


Heart and Eye

by AnarchyRules



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Angel Season 5, Angel Season Five, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Xander Harris, Buffy Angel Crossover, Comic: After the Fall, Crossover, Dawn loves Xander, F/F, F/M, Love/Hate, Post-Africa Xander Harris, Post-Canon, Sex, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, Wolfram & Hart, Xander Harris-centric, Xander in Angel Season 5, Xander in Angel Season Five, Xander working with Angel, Xander-centric, sex scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-01-08 04:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 90,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12246981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnarchyRules/pseuds/AnarchyRules
Summary: Heartbroken after the death of Anya, Xander finds himself in LA. While thought to be dead by his friends he forms an uneasy alliance with Angel and his team at Wolfram and Heart in an attempt to find something worth living for. Working under Wesley's supervision he attempts to rebuild his life and find a place where he belongs. That would be easy if he didn't have to share a workplace with Harmony Kendall.This is based after the series finale Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is during Season Five of Angel.





	1. The More Things Change...

**Author's Note:**

> Based after the episode "Damaged" but before "Your Welcome"

It was almost funny. For a guy obsessed with being the epitome of masculinity and becoming the alpha male, Alexander Harris had been ruled by women for his entire life.

It had all started with a girl. Everything had started with a girl. Every major stage in his life had started with a girl. He had learned that girls did not actually have cooties when he befriended Willow Rosenberg at kindergarten. He had been introduced into the world of monsters and demons when Buffy Summers entered his life. He had learned that he could actually be desirable to the opposite sex when he dated Cordelia Chase. He was exposed to the true depths of fear and shame on the night he sought out Faith Lehane to offer his help. He could see the best of humanity when he was introduced to Tara Maclay.

This was nothing compared to what he had been shown with Anya Jenkins.

He discovered lust, sex and love in that order. Then he experienced maturity and the sense of belonging as the pieces of his life _finally_ fell into place. That was swiftly followed by self-loathing and bitterness after he made the biggest mistake of his life. He betrayed and abandoned her. There should have been no coming back from what he did and yet somehow there was.

The schoolboy attraction had been replaced with the love of love of a man. A man who finally knew what he wanted from life. It was slow going, almost tentative in the beginning but they finally found each other again. They could see past all the baggage, all the drama, all the playacting and actually saw each other.

And then she died and took all of that progress and development with her.

**~o~O~o~**

Nothing had ever been the same in Los Angeles since Caritas was destroyed. Okay, that may not have been _entirely_ true. The sun still rose and set ( _finally_ – everyone remembered the days when the sun didn't rise) and people still went to work and occasionally they were eaten by their co-workers. Okay, nothing had really changed at all. However, the underworld of L.A. still missed their favourite watering hole and yet, despite many requests/demands/threats etc. the Host refused to consider rebuilding. ‘Twice is more than enough sweeties,’ he would say with a regal flourish.

While bad news for his many disappointed patrons, this was really quite spectacular news for a Mr. C. Pressley the owner of Virtus; the new place to be. Yeah, he was really going to have to make it sound more tough and less… well celebrity- _ish_. It just didn't work for the clientele he had in mind. P.R. was everything in his industry. If he wasn't careful he could end up with Backstreet Boy wanabees filling up his scene and that simply wouldn't do.

Pressley was short man with a shaved head and a large belly. He did not have a very distinctive appearance aside from his fingers which were, oddly enough, always perfectly manicured. Despite his (mostly) nondescript appearance, nobody – and by that we mean _nobody_ – wanted to ever be on the bad side of this portly human. He was either a master magician or a half demon on his mother's side (nobody knew) yet, either way, he was strong enough to fabricate a protective barrier that prevent almost anyone or anything from committing any acts of violence in or within ten feet of the entrance. The Browning Auto-5 shotgun on the counter reminded everyone that there was an exception to the rule as any trouble makers were always quick to discover. In other words the message was simple:

For the love of God do not _ever_ try piss off Pressley.

The things that could potentially piss of Pressley were on a sign behind the bar so that no-one could claim ignorance (not that that would have helped them, mind you).

**Things that can potentially piss of Pressley and that will cause you die horribly:**

Number One – Under no circumstances is one patron to pick a fight with another patron

Number Two – Under no circumstances is a patron to break a glass, a bowl or any other unlisted item that is used to hold food or drink

Number Three – Under no circumstances is a patron to comment on the appearance of the owner's fingernails

So you can imagine the surprise when some idiot decided to break all _three_ rules in the space of fifty-two seconds.

**~o~O~o~**

This was shaping up to be spectacularly _boring_ night. Spike had only been sitting down for two minutes and already he found himself bored stiff. He just couldn't place his finger on the reason of his discontent although that might have been due to his inability to properly move his hands. Even with his vampire healing it was still possible for one to see the scars on his wrists that had been left there recently by an enraged, psychotic Slayer.

‘The bitch did a real number on me, that she did,’ he murmured staring deeply into his shot of whiskey. He could hear heavy footsteps coming towards him, so he spun his stool around to be greeted by an incoming fist which was soon followed by a blinding flash of light.

The owner of the fist was flung back several feet only to land in an undignified heap on the ground. Several other patrons laughed at his misfortune. Spike looked down to meet the gaze of his would-be attacker.

Well, half a gaze. The man was wearing an eye patch.

‘Harris?’ Spike asked incredulously.

‘What? The? Hell?’ asked an extremely inebriated Xander Harris in a very quiet, very angry voice.

‘Huh? Oh right,’ said Spike, ‘Andrew didn't tell anyone, didn't he? I'm alive. Ta da,’ he said, holding his hands out faux-dramatically. He frowned for a moment before realising something. ‘What are you doing my neck of the woods?’ he asked, ‘Wait, what on Earth are you doing on this continent. I heard you were in Africa or Antarctica or some other place beginning and ending with 'A.'‘

Xander, still on the floor, began to laugh. This was not the laugh of joy or of good humour. This was the sound of years of anger and resentment crammed together to produce one bitter sound.

‘How does she do it?’ he asked himself, ‘Every. Single. Time. She can do whatever the hell she wants and still walks away without ever losing _anything_. I mean does anything kill you guys?’ He then hurled his not yet empty glass at the bleached blonde only for it to rebound harmlessly off the magical barrier and shatter.

Pressley finally took the time to walk over to the one-eyed man placed a boot on his chest and said, ‘Listen carefully friend. I don't care what kind of beef you have with this guy but, whatever it is, it stays outside. If you have a problem with that, I have a problem and if I have you problem you definitely have a problem. Comprende?’

‘Whatever you say Your Hugeness,’ Xander slurred mockingly before asking, ‘Did you know you have very gentle looking hands?’

**~o~O~o~**

Angel's hand hovered over the phone, still undecided on whether or not to pick it up and dial. The recent visit of Andrew Wells and the message that he and his team were no longer considered trustworthy by Buffy and her ‘Scoobies’ had been a difficult pill to swallow. Obviously he should just call her and try to straighten it all out, that would be the mature thing to do. But what if it just looked like he was just trying cover his tracks or something like that? ‘Alright,’ he said aloud, ‘I'll call her.’

However, his blonde vampire secretary Harmony picked that exact moment to walk in to the office.

‘Harmony,’ he growled, ‘Don't you _ever_ knock?’

‘Sorry, boss,’ she said, looking like a hurt puppy, ‘It's just that there is a brawl going on at Virtus.’ He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

‘And this concerns me _how_?’ he asked irritably.

‘Well,’ she said, taking several steps backwards, ‘The owner, Mr. Pressley, is a client.’

_Of course he is._

‘Also,’ she continued, ‘Blondie bear – uh, _Spike_ is apparently involved.’

_Of course_ he _is._

**~o~O~o~**

The funny thing about barrier spells is that – like all spells – they can be broken. The funny thing about Mr. Pressley was that – like many ‘tough guys’ – his reputation was almost entirely invented. These two facts resulted in the ‘impenetrable’ barrier shattering after Xander's sixth attempted punch. The entire bar was momentarily filled with a blinding blue light which suddenly, just as quickly as it arrived, dissipated.

Realising that violence was finally back on the menu, the bar – full of natural enemies forced into co-existence – quickly descended into violence.

**~o~O~o~**

Angel strode through the lobby, ignoring whatever it was Harmony was telling him. Why was she following him anyway? _Finally_ realising that he was not listening to her, she dejectedly turned and walked away. Was he _ever_ going to consider her part of the team?

Before he could head towards the garage, he bumped into Wesley.

‘Wesley, with me,’ he commanded without breaking his stride.

‘What's wrong this time?’ his accented companion asked, ‘You have your irritated face on.’

‘This is my normal face, Wes,’ Angel replied.

‘Exactly’

Angel actually chuckled, conceding the point to the former Watcher, ‘Okay, I walked into that. Apparently Spike has gotten himself into trouble again and, whilst I normally wouldn't give a crap about what happens to him, it happens to be on the property of a client, so there.’

‘Yay for us,’ Wesley drily replied. ‘Do you think we'll need backup?’

‘It's just a brawl,’ said Angel, ‘We're just coming there to put the fear of God into them and try to minimise the damage. I think that we're enough for that.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Blimey,’ said Spike while spitting blood, ‘That's new.’ The ‘new’ thing he was commenting on was the increased levels of ferocity and strength behind Xander's punches. However, just because Xander had become a better fighter that did not mean that Spike's own fighting prowess had diminished in anyway. A fact Xander learned quickly when he caught a blow right in the gut. He was pushed back several steps and keeled over. ‘So?’ asked the platinum blonde, ‘Are you done?’ In response, Xander swung a bar stool that caught him right under the jaw, sending him flying. The young man then rose to his feet.

‘I dunno.’ Xander cracked his knuckles. ‘Are _you_?’ Spike vamped out and snarled, ‘Oh I'm just getting started.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Turn here,’ instructed Wesley, ‘We're almost there.’

‘You've been to Virtus before?’ asked Angel, making a left turn.

‘A few times,’ admitted Wesley, ‘Not as nice as Caritas but it's a safe enough place.’

‘Except for the fact where there is supposedly a massive brawl going on that happens have Spike right in the centre of it,’ responded Angel.

‘True enough.’

**~o~O~o~**

It was if every patron in the bar had beef with every _other_ patron in the bar. Demons fighting humans, a couple of warlocks blasting projectile spells at everything that, a vampire was frantically raining blows on a towering Ethros demon that didn't even seem to notice the punches and, from either sides of the counter, a Deathwok demon and a Froctor demon were throwing glasses and bottles at each other. A few people had already been killed, some others were nursing injuries and others were trying to hide from the anarchy.

Basically, everyone was having a blast. It had been ages since they had a decent brawl.

In the centre of the maelstrom of violence and chaos stood a vamped out Spike and severely pissed of Xander Harris. Xander was still swinging the barstool at Spike while the vampire, strangely enough, was more on the defensive, only striking when he was sure of landing a successful punch. The stool finally shattered in Xander's hands, leaving him holding only a long metal pole. Undeterred, he swung it like a sword, attacking overhead. Spike caught the pole with his right hand and punched Xander with his left, forcing the boy back with enough force that he let go of his makeshift weapon. He quickly lunged forward, with both hands outreached and grabbed hold of the pole. Both of them fought for ownership of the weapon, each trying to push the other back.

Suddenly, an unexpected blow caught Xander in his back, forcing him to let go. He could hear Spike say, ‘I don't need your help Pryce, I'm doing just fine.’ He turned around to meet this new attacker with a left hook but the newcomer caught it with one hand. There was something familiar about this man. What was it? Oh, that's who he is.

‘Wesley?’ he gasped in astonishment only to be knocked unconscious from a blow to the back of his head, courtesy of Spike and the former leg of a barstool. Wesley rolled his eyes in irritation.

‘What?’ asked Spike, ‘Were we _not_ hitting him now? Okay honest mistake, my bad.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘ _Anya! Anya!’ He can feel the ground really starting to shake now. This school is very clearly going the same way as its predecessor. He can't see her anywhere. Is she…? Could she be…?_ No _, of course not._

_She already got out. That makes sense, she's probably out there saying something inappropriate as well._

‘ _ANYA!’_

**~o~O~o~**

‘Do we have to take the Cyclops with us?’ asked Spike, ‘Wait, why am I even coming with you guys?’

‘I ask myself that all the time,’ said Angel, not taking his eyes off the road.

‘Why does Spike have the front seat?’ complained Wesley, ‘He's not even an employee.’

‘You had it on the way here,’ said Spike.

‘How do you know that?’ demanded Wesley, ‘For all you know, I sat in the backseat on the way here.’

‘Did you?’ Spike asked, his eyebrows raised.

‘No.’

‘See? You have nothing to complain about,’ Spike smirked, ‘Na na na na na na.’

‘Look, if you don't knock it off, I'll turn this car right around,’ threatened Angel.

‘And take us where?’ mocked Spike.

‘Oh _God_ , this is like dealing with children,’ growled Angel, ‘No, scratch that. Children are much more mature than this.’

The car was silent for several minutes before Spike broke the quiet.

‘I want to know why he's here.’ The normally flippant vampire was being somewhat pensive. ‘I mean we recently learned that fearless leader and co. aren't Buffy's favourite bunch of people right now. So what is _he_ ,’ he pointed to the unconscious boy sitting next to Wesley, ‘doing here?’

‘Why is he wearing an eye patch?’ asked Angel.

‘I’m a little curious regarding that myself,’ said Wesley.

‘ _Hello_ guys?’ said Spike, ‘I was wondering if _she_ had sent him to keep an eye on us or something.’ Nobody needed to ask who _she_ was.

Angel immediately burst out laughing (‘Eye's on the road,’ said Wesley frantically).

‘ _Him?_ You think she'd send him? Oh, Spike, you spent _way_ too much time in Sunnydale that you forgot what it’s like out here in the _real world_. This is the big leagues; you don't send Xander _freaking_ Harris to the big leagues. It's like sending a caveman to kill an astronaut.

**~o~O~o~**

‘ _She was incredible. She died saving my life.’_

‘ _That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing.’_

_You really thought that didn't you?_

_No! She was_ never _stupid._

_If Andrew Wells lived and she didn't, she must have been. As much as you love her, you hate her, just a bit, for being so._

_No._

**~o~O~o~**

‘So anyway,’ explained Spike, ‘Some bloody great big priest sticks his thumb through his eye and it's gone that.’

‘Sounds like the fight was a little more brutal then you let on,’ replied Angel.

‘Nah, this wasn't during the big fight at the end,’ said Spike, ‘This was about a month or so before. I dunno what he and his girlfriend did during the fight.’

‘He has a girlfriend?’ Angel’s laugh was definitely mocking this time.

‘Yeah, former vengeance demon. _Waaaay_ out of his league if you ask me.’

‘He'll probably be fine,’ said Wesley, ‘But we should let Fred have a look at him first.’

‘Remember when Fred wasn't that kind of a doctor?’ said Angel, ‘She used be just a physicist and now she's the team medic as well.’

‘She's still not that kind of doctor,’ said Wesley, ‘You did know that right?’ Angel shrugged uncomfortably.

‘Sure,’ he said evasively.


	2. ... The More They Stay the Same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fred treats Xander's injuries while Angel and Wesley argue about why he is even in Los Angeles.

‘ _I'm not gonna find anyone out there like you, am I?’ he asks._

‘ _Doesn't seem likely,’ she responds, doing that impossible to resist hint of a smile thing._

‘ _It felt like a one more time,’ he says, trying to catch his breath._

‘ _I think maybe we're really over. Which is—it's good, right? I mean, now we can move on,’ she replies._

‘ _Sure,’ he says after the smallest hesitation, sure that’s what she wants to hear._

_Why did he say that?_

_He always did that. He always backed out before he could take a risk. He knew it would never make him feel better though._

_Why did he say that?_

**~o~O~o~**

‘Why did you hit him like that?’ demanded Fred angrily, her brown eyes doing their very best to burn holes into Spike's forehead.

‘Er, sorry,’ he attempted half-heartedly She frowned at him for a good five seconds. ‘Nah,’ he continued, ‘I don't believe it either. She rolled her eyes and turned to the unconscious man on the medical bed. ‘I mean come on,’ she said, ignoring his comment, ‘He is your friend from way back after all.’

‘ _Friend?_ ’ spluttered Spike incredulously, ‘He punched me in the face. I'm even bleeding. Look.’ He raised his chin into prominence so she could see the bruise.

‘Oh grow up,’ she said, shining a light into Xander's eye. Of course that was the moment he chose to wake up, his heading raising resulted in her inadvertently poking him in the eye with her light.

‘Dear _God!_ ’ he yelled, ‘What is the universe's problem with my eyes? I mean I've only got one left. Can I keep it? _Please?_ ’

‘Sorry,’ said Fred frantically, ‘I thought you were – and then you weren't – but you were supposed to…’

‘Are you always this articulate?’ he asked her sarcastically, ‘Or did I just catch you on a good day?’

‘ _Oi_! Leave her alone,’ said Spike sharply.

‘I'm fine,’ she said quickly before the vampire’s temper could get the better of him, ‘It _was_ my fault after all.’

‘I'm sorry,’ said Xander, simply wanting to avoid another fight, ‘I shouldn't have snapped at you.’ He turned to Spike, ‘Are you happy now?’ he asked.

‘Ecstatic,’ he deadpanned.

Xander looked around at his surroundings. He was lying/sitting in a hospital bed but he wasn't in a hospital. Wherever he was, it was clearly some sort of medical lab. He tried to raise his head a little higher but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. He quickly lowered his head back to the pillow groaning.

‘Okay, bad pain, hurting.’

‘You got off easy Harris,’ said Spike grinning, relishing in his discomfort.

**~o~O~o~**

Angel and Wesley watched the proceedings through a window. Xander was now attempting to kick Spike but the vampire jumped beyond his reach and making obscene hand gestures at him. Fred was trying to separate the two but was clearly not getting anywhere.

‘What do you plan on doing with him?’ asked Wesley, not taking his eyes of the spectacle.

‘Nothing at all,’ replied Angel, ‘I took him in as a favour to Buffy. As soon as Fred gives the all clear; going, going, gone.’

‘You're not interested in why he's here?’

‘I don't _care_ why he's here,’ stated Angel, ‘Buffy made her opinions regarding me – _us_ quite clear. If she wants to communicate with us she can pick up a phone or, better yet, come here herself and not send one of her minions.’

‘You're so sure he's here on Buffy's orders,’ Wesley observed.

‘Why else would he be here Wesley,’ asked Angel.

‘I don't know,’ the former Watcher admitted, ‘What I _do_ know, however, is that we found him in the middle of a bar brawl with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 0.18. That doesn't sound like a man on a mission.’ He turned to look Angel in the eyes. ‘Trust me,’ he said simply, ‘A man like that is trying to _forget_ the mission.’

Angel was confused. Wesley was clearly referring to the time he operated separately from the team but how was he doing that? He shouldn't remember anything to do with Connor at all. Or did they still have a falling out in this new timeline? He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed what Wesley said next. ‘To be perfectly honest,’ he said, ‘I am rather interested in what brought him here. He seems quite different compared to the last time I saw him although, to be fair, that was several years ago and he was just a boy at the time. He also had both eyes at the time.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Look,’ said Xander, ‘I'm sorry for snapping at you. That wasn't fair to you, I was just a little surprised by… well everything.’ Fred smiled at him.

‘That's quite alright,’ she said warmly, ‘You were well within your rights to react like that.’

‘You're Winifred right?’ he asked, “Winifred Burkle?’

‘Yeah, that's me,’ she said, ‘I prefer Fred but, yeah, that's me. I already said that bit, didn't I? I'll just go and get your medication before I eat any more of my foot. You know, say something stupid..? You already got that? Okay; rambling stops now.’ She excused herself and hastily left the room.

 Xander chuckled to himself.

‘I can see why Willow was smitten by her,’ he said.

‘Red had a thing for her did she?’ asked Spike incredulously.

            ‘Yeah,’ Xander replied, ‘When she came back from here she was all – wait no. We're not friends Spike,’ he said, ‘So we're not going to chat like ones. Besides, aren't you guys evil now? Again?’

‘ _Hey!_ ’ said Spike defensively, ‘I am _not_ one of Angel's lackeys. I just happen to be… uh… hanging around at this precise moment in time. Yeah, that's it.’

‘Keep telling yourself that,’ Xander said derisively, ‘I may have been out of the loop but I'm not _that_ out of the loop. You guys are Wolfram  & Hart. Did you honestly think no-one would notice?’ He snorted. ‘I've been saying you two were trouble waiting to happen for years,’ he said, trying to move into more of a sitting position, ‘Do you know how good it feels to be right about the pair of you _again?_ ’ He groaned in pain, ‘Okay,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘This is getting ridiculous. You'd think after all the head trauma and every other trauma I go through…’ His sentence trailed off into unintelligible mumbling.

**~o~O~o~**

‘I don't get it,’ grumbled Angel, ‘If Spike hates him as much as he says he does, why is he still in there with him?’

‘Well,’ said Wesley, ‘If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that when Buffy hears about this, Spike will be the first to tell her he made sure he was okay, despite their personal differences.’ Angel snorted in derision.

‘He wouldn't do that,’ he replied, ‘She woul–.’ He swiftly entered the lab. Wesley followed Angel, partially out of a desire to check on Xander himself – after all, they did used to fight the good fight together – and partially out of a desire to watch his boss and Spike bicker. It always broke the tedium of saving the world and destroying evil demons.

Xander looked up to greet the newcomers.

‘Angel,’ he said, ‘I'd say it was a pleasure but then that wouldn't be entirely truthful.

            ‘Xander,’ said Angel evenly, ‘What brings you to L.A.?’

‘Ah nothing much,’ he replied, ‘I always wanted to see the Hollywood sign.’ He looked beyond the CEO of Wolfram & Hart. ‘Wesley?’ he said in surprise, ‘I thought it was you. Willow mentioned you ditched the suits and went for the whole ‘rebel without cause’ thing. I gotta say; it totally works for you.’ Wesley grinned slightly.

‘Well, to be fair, you're not exactly the same when I saw you last,’ he said, lightly pointing to his own left eye.

‘Had disagreement with a loony priest,’ Xander explained, ‘Put me off church for life. And wine,’ he added, ‘Not that I ever actually liked wine it just… I dunno,’ he ended lamely.

Fred entered the room carrying a bottle of painkillers.

‘Take two of these for the pain,’ she said, handing the bottle to Xander.

‘Thanks,’ said before proceeding to swallow a handful of the pills, much to her consternation.

**~o~O~o~**

Charles Gunn was annoyed. That bloody Pressly had been yelling at him over the phone for the better part of two hours, demanding swift and violent action against (in his words) the crazy pirate that had lain waste to his establishment and done violence to his person. Gunn would say, ‘But sir, piracy only can take place at sea,’ and ‘At most; he could be charged with assault as it was clearly the actions of several patrons.’ His left ear was really starting to hurt.

‘Rough day?’ asked a kind voice. He looked up to see the sympathetic, green visage of Lorne of the Deathwok clan.

‘You have no idea,’ he said, rubbing his eyes, ‘What is it? Two?’ Lorne checked the clock outside.

‘Two a.m. on the dot,’ he answered.

‘Any idea who this ‘Harris’ guy is and why Angel wants us to avoid legal action?’ he asked.

‘Didn't say squat,’ said Lorne, ‘But their minds were screaming ‘Scooby’ so I think it's fair to say a certain perky blonde is involved.’

‘Didn't we just finish this mess?’ he asked, irritation creeping his voice, ‘I mean… I… I specifically remember being told we were not going to be bothered by that part of the story anymore.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Look,’ said Fred pacifyingly, ‘I get that there's some bad blood between you and Angel but –’

‘Bad _blood?_ Are trying to be funny?’ asked Xander sarcastically.

‘What do me – No, of course not, sorry,’ she babbled before taking a breath and continuing to talk in her ‘professional’ voice, ‘I just mean; you took a nasty bump on the head. Now, it doesn't look serious but I still want you to stay the night just to be sure. I really don't care about whatever pissing contest the pair of you are in, you're _my_ patient and you _will_ spend the night in observation so I can be sure you won't drop dead after five steps out the door. And since this isn't actually a hospital, I am under no obligations to take your ill-conceived wishes into account so, you will stay the night voluntarily or, if necessary, I will handcuff you to the bed and you will stay involuntarily. Either way you're staying.’

‘Handcuffs huh?’ mused Xander, just loud enough for her to hear, ‘Wesley's going to _love_ that.’ Her heart skipped a beat.

‘Wesley?’ she asked automatically, her eyes darting around to make sure no-one else was in earshot. A slight blush was also developing on her cheeks.

‘You do know he’s majorly into you right?’ he asked grinning.

‘How do know th- Stop trying to change the subject,’ she snapped. ‘So,’ she said, attempting – with mixed results – to regain her composure, ‘Will you stay of you own accord?’

‘Oh whatever,’ he said finally, ‘One night only though, then I'm gone.’ He groaned, ‘Still don't know how I wound up in California,’ he said to himself.

‘Where did you think you were?’ she asked, hoping he would see her as a sympathetic figure and not an antagonist if she took an interest in his problems.

‘To be perfectly honest,’ he said, ‘I thought I was in Maine.’

‘ _Maine?!_ ’ she exclaimed, ‘How did you get the west coast confused with the east coast?’

‘It's been a tough ride,’ he said evenly, ‘I haven't really been paying much attention for the past few weeks. By the way, what's the date, if you know?’

‘Third of February,’ she answered.

‘It's the new year?’ he asked, sounding only mildly curious that he had missed Christmas and New Year.

‘You didn't even know that?’ she asked, trying to disguise the shock in her voice as concern. The pair was silent for several minutes before she finally asked, ‘What happened?’

For the briefest instant, the mask of stoicism fell away from him and she could pain, misery and self-loathing etched across his face. Then the instant passed and his mask was returned hiding any trace of the hurt.

‘The fight ended,’ he said, ‘I wanted to see what I was like when I wasn't just being… I dunno, being part of it. You know; being normal.’

‘And yet we found you in a demon bar starting a brawl,’ she stated.

‘Baby steps,’ he deadpanned. She scoffed slightly.

‘I should be going,’ she said, ‘If I'm lucky, I have enough time to go home just in time to come back here.’ She paused at the door, ‘If I ask you something a little random, can you promise not to laugh?’ she asked.

‘Go for it,’ he said.

‘How did you know about Wesley?’ she asked.

‘It's what I do,’ he said, ‘I see things. Don't let this fool you,’ he pointed to his eye patch, ‘I might be missing one eye but there is _nothing_ wrong with the other one. Besides,’ he added, ‘I guess I kind of have some experience in watching others and getting a feel for what they're thinking.’ He smiled thinly. ‘Good night, Doctor Burkle.’

**~o~O~o~**

Harmony was resting her head on her desk. It seemed no-one was making it home tonight, what with all the excitement that had occurred that night. Aside from the brawl at Virtus, there had been an incident with several members of the Scourge. Apparently they had been responsible for several hate crimes in the city and, even though he had been told by Eve that it wasn't their business, Angel insisted on putting his people on it.

‘ _HARMONY!_ ’ Angel slapped his hand sharply on the desk causing her to leap to her feet. ‘Do I pay you to sleep or to work?’

‘S-sorry,’ she stammered, ‘I'll get right to it.’

_It's not fair_ , she thought, _If I do the work and background research, I get yelled at, if I don't I get yelled at. I just want less hostility. And to be allowed an hour of sleep. Hell, I'd settle for five minutes. Why won’t people be nicer to me?_


	3. In Harm's Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and his team attack a vampire den for some pro bono hero work. Xander wants to gatecrash but finding out where they went means attempting to get the information out of one Harmony Kendall.

‘ _That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing’_

Xander's eye opened, slowly taking in his surroundings. It quickly came back to him, he was in the medical lab of Wolfram & Hart. He had been taken there after receiving a nasty blow the head courtesy of Spike. Yet, strangely enough, his head was free of any pain.

‘What were those pills made of?’ he asked aloud before turning his head to find the clock. It was just after four. Four P.M. Four Post Meridiem. He had slept for over _twelve hours!_ As much as he'd hate to admit it though, he felt great, better than he had in many months. In fact, he felt good enough to pick up an axe and dig it into Spike's over large skull before finding a flame thrower and setting fire to his fake blonde hair before kicking him in a particularly painful part of his body before tap dancing on his head before…

‘Okay, chill,’ he breathed, ‘Just calm down. You can’t properly brutally and horrifically torture Spike when you're not calm.’ He looked over to the chair that Fred had been sitting in the previous night… well actually earlier than day. Neatly folded on the seat was a pair of navy jeans, a pair of clean boxers and a black tee-shirt. Also, hanging over the back of the chair was a brown leather jacket. He realised at that moment that he was wearing a hospital gown and his clothes were nowhere to be found. Someone had undressed him while he was asleep. ‘That's not creepy in any way,’ he said sarcastically. He got out of the bed and walked over to the chair and he saw a note on the pile:

_Sorry about your clothes. You went into a violent fit at around midday and your clothes were unsalvageable. I hope you like the jacket and that things turn out better for you._

_Yours sincerely, Fred._

_:)_

‘Unsalvageable?’ he mused, frowning slightly, ‘Do I want to know what that means.’ He felt around inside the pockets and found that his wallet had been thoughtfully placed there. He looked back at the smiley face and chuckled. Maybe there was at least _one_ decent person at Wolfram  & Hart.

**~o~O~o~**

Wesley placed the phone back in its receiver, thinking on the information that had been conveyed. He was certainly sure that Angel would be pleased to hear what he had to say. A pack of vampires that had been a little too obvious, a little too brutal with a particularly nasty fascination with children had been a pet project of his for the past week and today, one of Wesley's informants had discovered where the spent their daylight hours. Angel wanted this pack destroyed as it was entirely different to all of the shades of grey Wolfram & Hart forced them to work with. One unambiguous good deed could make all the grey the world had to offer just that _little_ bit whiter.

He hit the speed dial for Gunn's phone and after a single ring, he heard, ‘Charles Gunn. Who is calling?’

‘It's Wesley,’ he replied, ‘It appears that we will be seeing action tonight. Gear up and meet me at Angel's office in ten. I'll see you there.’

He then called Harmony and told her to let Angel know he was coming.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Uh boss?’ said Harmony, hesitantly poking her head through the door.

‘What Harmony?’ snapped Angel, not even looking up from his work.

‘Um… It's just, uh…’

‘ _WHAT?’_

‘ _Wesleytoldmetotellyouhewascominguphereashenowknows wherethepackofvampiresthatyouhavebeentrackingishid ing_ ,’ she said in one breath.

‘ _Harmony_ ,’ Angel snarled through gritted teeth like her name was a curse word. He then took a deep breath and said in a quitter although no less dangerous or menacing voice, ‘Harmony Kendall, you will make sense this instant or, so help me God, I will send you for a walk outside in the sun!’

‘Wesley told me to tell you he was coming up here as he now knows where the pack of vampires that you have been tracking is hiding,’ she said doing her best not to stammer.

‘Why didn't you tell me that?’ he demanded before hurling his mug at her head. She ducked and quickly left his office with a fearful squeak before rushing back in to collect the mug so she could refill it. Before leaving the room she almost ran headfirst into Wesley who was carrying a sawn off shotgun. She moved around him and ran to the relative safety of her desk.

**~o~O~o~**

The interior of Wolfram & Hart had more twist and turns than a David Lynch movie. It was a wandering, meandering mess that just went in all directions leaving him with no idea on how to get out. However, after receiving some directions from a friendly yet satanic looking demon, he was eventually able to find his way the top floor. ‘How the hell did I get to the top floor without using any stairs?’ he said. He saw a pretty blonde writing at a desk near an office with a door was labelled CEO. There was something familiar about her. Had he made a drunken pass at her at some dingy bar or did she just have one of those faces? He was going to ask if she knew the way out when, as luck would have, Angel, Wesley and an African-American man with a shaved head he didn't chose to exit the CEO's office.

‘Good, you're up,’ said Angel tersely. Xander promptly ignored him and turned to the stranger and stretched out his hand.

‘Xander,’ he said by way of introduction, ‘I haven't met you yet.’

The stranger returned the handshake and replied, ‘Charles Gunn. I work with Angel.’ Xander nodded in recognition.

‘Yeah I've heard of you,’ he said, ‘Willow, don't know if you remember her, she's friend of mine, and anyway she mentioned you.’

‘Yeah I remember her,’ said Gunn, ‘Tiny pale chick with red hair?’

‘The one and only.’

‘Now that the meet and greet is over, can we go do our job?’ said Angel irritably.

‘What's the matter Angel?’ sneered Xander, ‘Off to kick some sick, starving orphans out of their house or whatever it is evil lawyers like you do on your down time?’

‘Most of us actually aren’t lawyers,’ said Wesley before a glare from Gunn caused him to add, ‘Not that there's anything wrong with lawyers. We actually have many branches, our legal department is merely one of them.’

‘Good for you,’ said Xander, ‘So what are you doing and, to do whatever it is, do you have to exit the building to do that? If so, I'm following you to get out of here.’

‘No you're not,’ said Angel, ‘And, not that it's any of your business, we are actually going to wipe out a pack of vampires that seem to enjoy targeting the sick, little orphans you seem to care so much about.’

‘Vampires huh?’ said Xander thoughtfully. It had been a while since he had been in a proper fight and the inactivity had caused his life go into a bit of a tailspin. Maybe the pure ‘them and us’ aspect conflict could be a way of seeing where he stood in life. ‘Do you need a hand?’ Angel burst out laughing.

‘Oh _no_ ,’ he said, ‘You'd get in the way and I don't want to have to come save you sorry ass because you did something stupid.’

‘ _Hey!_ ’ Xander replied indignantly, ‘I fought against an army of Turok-Han led by the First Evil. What have _you_ done recently?’ Before Angel could retort, Wesley intervened.

‘Maybe we should bring him,’ he said placatingly, ‘Turok-Han are not to be taken lightly and if he fought them, he could be an asset.’

‘Hiding behind activated Slayers does not count as fighting,’ countered Angel, ‘Anyway, this isn't a democracy. He. Is. Not. Going. Now everyone into the elevator. Not you,’ he added to Xander. The trio entered the elevator – Wesley giving him an apologetic shrug before doing so – and the doors closed behind them. Xander punched the wall in frustration before making a supreme effort to calm himself. He then walked over to the familiar looking secretary.

‘Excuse me, Miss, do you – Harmony?’ The blonde looked up in shock.

‘Xander?’ she said, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Believe me, I'm asking the same question,’ he replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose, just not ready to deal with her today. ‘Say, do you know where they're going?’

‘Yes,’ she said proudly, ‘I'm Angel's… well, everything. I manage his affairs, I tell him when –’

‘I don't want your life story,’ he snapped, ‘I would very much like you to tell me where they are going.’

‘Well _tough_ ,’ she said, ‘Do you honestly think I would tell _you_ of all people?’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘You are going to tell me and I'm going to kill you.’

‘Don't you mean _or_ you're going to kill me?’ she asked. She may have been a vampire and he may have been a lowly human but something about his tone terrified her.

‘No,’ he grinned. However, before he could try to carry out his threat he heard someone from behind call his name.

‘Xander,’ repeated Fred, walking over to him, ‘I didn't know you were still here.’

‘Well I wouldn't be if the stupid _bimbo_ over here would tell me what I want to know,’ he snapped before changing his tone. ‘Sorry,’ he said, more calm, ‘I'm not angry at you. Thanks for the clothes by the way. I like the jacket.’

‘You're welcome,’ she said, ‘What do you want to know?’

‘I want to know they are going,’ he said.

‘And what would you do with the information?’ she asked, carefully scrutinising his face for any sign of deceit.

‘Help,’ he said simply, ‘I want to help. Last night, you made me realise that I can't keep doing what I'm doing and seeing as no one wants to hire a half blind carpenter to make their stuff, well, fighting evil is the one thing I have experience in.’ She silently handed him a piece of folded paper. ‘What is this?’ he asked.

‘The location of the nest,’ she said quietly. He looked at paper; it had the address for a disused beer factory near the docks.

‘Thank you,’ he said earnestly, ‘Not just for this but… well everything.’ She smiled sweetly at him.

‘I hope you find what you're looking for,’ she said before walking away.

Xander grinned. Maybe there was still something for him out there. He rounded back on Harmony.

‘I don't suppose this ‘law firm’ has a garage?’ he asked pleasantly.

**~o~O~o~**

‘So, seeing as there are at least fourteen nasties in there, what's the plan,’ asked Gunn from the backseat.

‘Why am I even here?’ asked Spike happy to have called permanent shotgun.

‘Yeah,’ agreed Angel, not taking his eyes off the road, ‘Why is he here?’

‘Well,’ said Wesley looking pointedly at Wolfram & Hart's CEO, ‘Seeing as how you refused to bring along any company muscle to help kill fourteen plus vampires, we are hardly in any position to refuse help.’

‘We've already been over this,’ said Angel through gritted teeth, ‘Xander would have been a liability.’

‘Xander wanted to come?’ asked Spike, ‘You shoulda said yes. He packs a hell of a punch.’

‘Why are you saying that?’ demanded Angel, ‘I thought you hated him.’

‘I do,’ smirked Spike, ‘But that would mean taking your side so I am forced to do whatever would annoy you more. However, on a serious note, the kid can fight, I've seen it in Sunnydale Hell you've seen it in Sunnydale.’

‘Why is everyone on the stupid kid's bandwagon?’ asked Angel of no one in particular. Anyway, we should be focusing on the plan. Spike and I will go in and engage them directly. There are two entrances and exits to the building so Wesley will take the north one, Gunn you take the east one. Any of them try to get out; you turn them back or turn them to ash. I hardly need to remind you that if they escape; they will take more kids so none of them leave the building.’ He glanced up at the sky. ‘It's almost sunset,’ he said, ‘As soon as it's down, we attack.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Thirty-eight minutes to sunset_ **

Xander whistled in admiration. ‘You know,’ he said, making no effort to hide the fact that he was impressed, ‘I know that I hate Angel and all but _damn_ he has some cool stuff.’

The ‘cool stuff’ in question was the contents of Wolfram and Hart's garage. It boasted the finest collection of motor vehicles that Xander had ever seen. With them all boasting upgrades that no store could match (the necro-tempered glass didn't really impress him though) he found it difficult to pick a favourite. There a bright red Enzo Ferrari, a Ducati 999 motorcycle and, frankly, he found that the beautiful blue and silver Nissan Skyline was calling to him. He heard an exasperated groan from behind him. ‘What?’ he asked Harmony, ‘I have seen gods, I have seen demons, I have stared into the very face of death and yet this is the most _amazing,_ awe-inspiring thing I have ever seen.’ She groaned again and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘ _Men._ ’

‘Ah what do you know?’ he asked rhetorically. It was right then that he saw it; it was so perfect, it was so _him_. ‘I think I'll take that one,’ he said.

‘They all look the same to me,’ said Harmony, entirely unimpressed.

**~o~O~o~**

Jeremy watched as the sun slowly descended towards horizon, carefully sticking to the shadows. It could be no more than five minutes to sunset. Getting turned into dust by the sun was not how he planned on going out. Not that he planned on going out ever. He was smart, that's how he got his own gang. He had purchased the abandoned factory legally so that he wouldn't end up like Carlos did the previous year (his hideout had actually been purchased by a business who demolished the building during daylight hours while the poor bastard was unlucky enough to still be inside), and what a hideout it was. It had a tunnel with ready access to the sewer system allowing for a quick retreat should the need arise, multiple levels so everyone could have their own space (come on, he was a pretty decent boss, he got that sometimes people _and_ vampires sometimes needed to get away from it all) and, best of all, he had an office. Really, the only downside was the three metre tall window on the west side, however, it could be covered with a heavy curtain and, if one was careful, it could let him know exactly when it was sunset. He closed the curtain and smiled at his brilliance. He _was_ smart.

He had been doing this vampire gig for the past four years and he reckoned he knew all there was to know; stay out of the sun, garlic and crosses are bad, don't lose your head (literally) and avoid wooden stakes like the plague (if the plague could actually kill you that is). However, there was one thing he had yet to learn: Under no circumstances should you _ever_ get on Angel's radar.

He was unlucky enough to learn this fact the doors his lair were kicked inwards revealing the pissed off, vamped out Angel. Jeremy swung his fist at the intruder's head but Angel extended his palm out towards him and a hidden state emerged from his sleeve. The stake penetrated his chest and…

**~o~O~o~**

As the first vampire dissolved into a pile of dust Angel turned to survey his surroundings. He could see six vampires but he was sure that there were more hidden in the dark. Wait, make that five vampires, one caught a crossbow bolt to the chest, courtesy of Gunn who was already reloading. He took one look at the covered window and decided that he was going to stay _far_ away from it. Accidents did happen in fights. It was still a few minutes to sundown and getting turned into dust by the sun was not how he planned on going out.

Spike came in from the north entrance with Wesley at his back and charged into the fray, fangs bared and fists flying. Two of the more cowardly vampires decided that the human would be easier pickings.

They were wrong.

With two pulls of the trigger, his shotgun shredded their insides, forcing them to the ground. He then strode towards them, twin hidden blades folded out from his wrists and he decapitated the pair of them.

Blocking the east exit, Gunn swung his axe, not managing any dust clouds but still holding the monsters back.

‘It would appear that there are more than fourteen,’ said Wesley unnaturally calm despite the whirlwind of violence that enveloped him.

‘ _Ya think?_ ’ asked Spike sarcastically, making his fourth kill in the form of a decapitation.

There had been, in fact, _thirty-one_ vampires in all living together. With fourteen kills between them, that brought the total to seventeen.

And they kept on coming.

‘I don't mean criticize you fearless leader,’ said Gunn, all but buried under the swarm, ‘But maybe we should have brought back up.’

**~o~O~o~**

For James Cavill, it had been a long day. His boss was going through a messy divorce. Why should that be a problem for him? Because the bitch decided to take it out on the entire workplace, that's why. And now he had to go all the way to the other side of the city because his wife couldn't pick up their daughter Sarah from her gymnastics class. Stupid waste of money that was in his opinion, not that anyone ever listened to him. And to top it off, the crown jewel in his long day; the bloody traffic wouldn't move an inch.

He had seen faster snails.

He could hear the other drivers behind him pressing on their horns angrily and he turned around to see what all of the fuss was about and he swore in surprise.

A motorcyclist was weaving through the traffic, uncaring of any incidental damage he was doing to the vehicles of the other motorists. This was evidenced by his bike snapping Cavill's side mirror clean off.

‘YOU FU–!!!”

**~o~O~o~**

Despite the fact that there were only twelve remaining vampires left, things were not getting any easier. Wesley's shotgun had been snatched away and snapped enough half and Gunn's arms were reaching their breaking point. Angel and Spike didn't tire as quickly but, even for them, the fight was taking its toll. Angel was forced to the ground by a blow to the back and four of the monsters piled on to him. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a staking but he knew that he was living on borrowed time at best. Gunn couldn't get to him, having his own problems to deal with and Spike was too far away to help. It was at this moment that he reached his breaking point.

He had nothing. No hidden weapons, no secret moves, no available backup and no miraculous intervention in the form of a Slayer. He had nothing left to give.

It was at that exact moment that Xander smashed through the window riding a black Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R.

**~o~O~o~**

There were only thirteen seconds of weak sunlight remaining but, during a fight, a lot can happen in that amount of time.

**_Angel's thirteen seconds_ **

Angel kicked one his attackers backwards into the deadly light and then leapt away from the rays so as to avoid a similar fiery end. With only three surprised and distracted vampires left to deal with, the odds were beginning to favour him. He staked the first in the back and leapt through the suddenly created dust cloud towards the final two. He ducked under a wild haymaker from the first and punched the second one in the gut. He then shoved the already unbalanced first one to the ground and then kicked him under the jaw, stunning him momentarily. The second one looked up just in time to see a wooden stake pierce his chest before evaporating around the weapon. Angel then took the stake to the final one before looking around to see how the others were dealing with things.

**_Gunn's thirteen seconds_ **

Gunn gripped the shoulders of the vampire in front him and kicked away from the wall, sending both of them through the light. Of the two that entered the light only one of them passed through it to fall back in the shadows. He then picked up his axe, strode over to the other and beheaded the sucker. He then turned around to see how the surprise motorcyclist was doing.

**_Spike's thirteen seconds_ **

Spike, unlike Angel and Gunn, was over on the other side of the factory and, as a result, he was unable to gain much benefit from the deadly, if short lived, weapon. But he didn't need it, he was Spike and these were only two inexperienced vampires. He didn't need the sun's help. He punched one of them so that they smashed into the railings of the stairs that led to the higher level. He then picked up the long wooden splinter and staked the pair of them at once. ‘I am awesome,’ he said to his awesome self.

**_Wesley's thirteen seconds_ **

Wesley, like Spike, was also too far to benefit from the sudden appearance of the light. Though Wesley may have lost his shotgun he still had two M1911 pistols which he then proceeded to draw. With dual clicks of the trigger he scored two headshots both of the vampires collapsed to the ground in a spasming mess as the bullets penetrated their cerebral cortexes. He calmly strode over to the pair and held out his palms towards them; dual blades folded out from under his sleeves and he beheaded the pair.

**_Xander's thirteen seconds_ **

It suddenly occurred to Xander that he may not have thought this entire plan through. Whilst crashing through the window in such a dramatic fashion both looked impressive and helped everyone one else rather splendidly it did little to change the fact that he was now roughly thirty feet in the air. He landed much harder than he had expected and bounced twice before being hurled over the handlebars and landing hard on the back of his shoulders before the rest of the body slammed into the ground. He rose to his feet just in time to meet the blow of one of the remaining vampires. He captured his opponent's punch and twisted his arm so that the entirety of the vampire's weight was now pressing down on his own wrist before suddenly slamming down hard, shattering it. He then took off his helmet as the darkened visor made it difficult to see and then slid to the left, just in time to avoid an uppercut from behind him. He waited for the vampire to strike again before quickly to the right. Now, with his opponent off balance, he grabbed his shoulders from behind and pulled back roughly, sending him crashing into a support post. The first vampire was still nursing his injured wrist. Xander heard a shout to his left and turned just in time to catch the axe that Gunn threw to him. He caught it and swung, taking the head off with the same motion. He then turned to the final vampire and repeated his action watching the head spin for a second before dissolving with the rest of the body. He could feel the last vestiges of sunlight disappear as the shadows began to take over.

**~o~O~o~**

The building was silent save for the heavy breathing of the three humans. Xander nodded to Gunn and tossed him back his axe. ‘Thanks,’ he managed to get out. Gunn nodded wearily n response. As the adrenaline left his body, Xander wearily collapsed to his knees. He was quite certain he was going to feel that fall again tenfold when he woke up the next morning. Gunn stumbled and sat down next to him. Xander noticed he was limping, favouring his left foot. ‘So is this what lawyers do in their downtime?’ he asked him. Gunn laughed wearily.

‘Something like that,’ he answered while polishing the axe's edge with the hem of his shirt.

‘Do you at least get dental or something?’ he queried.

‘We actually have a pretty decent healthcare coverage,’ Gunn responded before looking up to see Wesley sit down with them holding the pieces of his now ruined shotgun.

‘Interesting entrance,’ he observed wryly.

‘Believe me,’ said Xander nursing his left shoulder, ‘I _really_ did not think that through.’

‘Any chance of saving that?’ Gunn asked Wesley, nodding at the shotgun parts.

‘Afraid not,’ he answered casting them aside.

‘I dunno,’ said Xander, ‘They could always be used as giant paperweight… things. I’m sorry, I thought I had something funny to say. I have no idea where I was going with that.’ The three humans laughed tiredly as Angel and Spike sat down with them. ‘Let me guess,’ said Xander to Angel, ‘This is the part where you yell at me for coming and getting in the way not to mention endangering you with the whole sun thing?’

‘Nah I'll do that later,’ responded Angel, ‘I just want to sit down right now and be grateful for my enhanced healing and energy.’

‘Yippy for you,’ said Wesley sarcastically.

‘Well,’ said Spike, ‘If it makes any of you feel better, I'm actually feeling quite good.’

‘It doesn't,’ responded the four.

**~o~O~o~**

It was a quiet ride back to Wolfram & Hart, the silence only broken by Angel calling the office and requesting a team to clean up the factory and to retrieve the motorcycle. Angel should have made some sort of snide comment to Xander, who was now sitting between Gunn and Wesley in the back seat. It was kind of his thing; make snide comments about how weak or pathetic or how he was just a boy. But he didn't. To be perfectly honest; he was tired of all the in-fighting with his allies. He'd done quite enough of that over the past three years, even if he was the only one to now remember a good deal of said infighting. So he said nothing.

When they arrive at the building they were greeted by both Fred and Lorne. Xander, having never before seen the striking green figure with red horns may have had a bit of a reaction to him that resulted in Gunn quickly leaping in front of to tell him that Lorne was friendly before he did something regrettable.

‘Sorry,’ apologised Xander awkwardly, ‘Victim of a Sunnydale education – horns equal bad – that being said I am very sorry if I caused any offence.’

‘Quite alright honey,’ said Lorne affably, ‘Not the first time, it happens.’ Fred, on the other hand was nowhere near as calm.

‘ _What the HELL were you thinking?_ ’ she screeched at him.

‘What?’ said Xander, ‘He said he's fine.’

‘Not talking about that,’ she snapped, ‘At what point did you think it was a good idea to drive a motorcycle straight through a window?’

‘You gave me the directions!’ he protested.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I thought you would be sensible and act as support but _driving a motorcycle through a window? With a head injury?_ ’

‘It seemed like a good idea at the time?’ he offered lamely. She glared at him even more intensely than before but, before she could continue her tirade, Wesley interceded.

‘To be fair Fred,’ he said calmly, ‘His actions may have tipped the balance in our favour.’

‘Nobody asked you,’ she retorted, ‘And anyway, what are you doing encouraging him?’

‘It wasn't as bad as it sounds,’ said Gunn smoothly, ‘In all honesty it kinda cool.’

Fred glared at the three before storming off muttering ‘ _Men,_ ’ under her breath. Spike leaned in towards Xander.

‘I think she likes you,’ he said sardonically.

**~o~O~o~**

Like the previous night, Xander was once again sitting at the counter of a bar. Not a demon bar this time, just a normal, if slightly dingy, one. He was thinking over the conversation he had with Angel only a few hours ago.

_Angel awkwardly walked up to, clearly uncomfortable. ‘Hey, Harris. Uh what you did before,’ he began, ‘Thanks. It was very… helpful.’_

‘ _Uh you're welcome?’ said Xander, just as awkward, ‘That's what I'm supposed to say right?’_

‘ _Something like that,’ he replied with a crack of a smile. He turned to walk into the building. Xander stood and watched him for a few moments before suddenly calling out._

‘ _Do you have any job openings available?’ he asked suddenly. Angel did a complete 180 and starred at him._

‘ _What?’_

‘ _Do you have any job openings available?’ Xander reiterated._

‘ _Why?’ Angel’s eyes narrowed._

‘ _I could use the work,’ Xander admitted readily, ‘I can fight and I'm actually surprisingly good at the research part of the job as well.’_

‘ _What about Buffy?’ he asked._

‘ _What about her?’ Xander replied, ‘She has an army, I don't think she needs me.’_

‘ _Don't you want to at least let her know you're in L.A.?’ he asked, clearly confused by these responses._

‘ _No I don't,’ Xander answered evenly._

‘ _Why not?’ he asked, ‘And you better answer me honestly or there is no way I will even_ consider _this.’ Xander was silent for a while._

‘ _I'm dead,’ he said suddenly, ‘That's what they all think. They think I died in Africa and, for now, I want it to stay that way.’_

‘ _What?’ he demanded, ‘What do you mean? They're your friends. I never really had an absurdly high opinion of you but I never thought you could do something like this. Hell, I thought you even had a fiancée or girlfriend or whatever.’_

‘ _She died,’ said Xander simply, ‘When the town collapsed… She didn’t make it out in time. More than that I just… I dunno, need space away from them. There’s just too much baggage.’_

‘ _Oh.’ It was all he could say. He had not seen that revelation coming. While he didn't agree with what Xander had done, he could see the attraction in just wanting to leave problems behind. ‘Wesley could use an assistant in Research and Intelligence. You would work directly with him and, when required, help fight when we have bigger jobs. If that's acceptable to you, come by tomorrow morning at around ten and we'll write you up a contract and put you on the payroll.’_

‘ _Sounds good. See you tomorrow then, boss,’ Xander responded dryly._

_‘Back at you, Harris.’_

While nursing his drink, he looked to his left and saw a familiar blonde a few stools down. ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked Harmony, sliding down so he was sitting next to her. She was cradling a cocktail with at least three too many tiny umbrellas. ‘Didn't think this'd be your scene. You were much snootier if I recall correctly.’

‘I can come here if I want to,’ she said defensively, ‘And before you get any bright ideas about trying to stake me, Angel says I am safe so long as I don't feed on humans. So there.’ Xander laughed harshly.

‘Oh, Harmony,’ he said, ‘If I wanted to kill you, you would _never_ see me coming. Anyway I just wanted to say that, as of tomorrow, we will be co-workers. Angel offered me a job working with Wesley.’

‘Oh that's all I need,’ she said sullenly, ‘It was bad enough sharing a school with you but I am now a woman who is trying to better herself which would be so much easier without Sunnydale's biggest stupid moron at my place of work.’

‘You have never been sexier,’ he said before grabbing her face and kissing her full on the mouth.

 


	4. Brand New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Fang Gang recovers from the previous night's vampire encounter, Xander contemplates the consequences of his own vampire encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor descriptions of sexual activity in this chapter. Nothing particularly graphic.

Despite only getting a few stolen hours of sleep at his desk, Wesley felt surprisingly good all things considered. Admittedly his arms ached a bit if he moved them the wrong way and his head could have been better but, seeing as he was only hours ago engaged in a brutal fight to the death, he was feeling far better than he had any right to.

He received a message from Angel to meet him and Gunn in one of the conference rooms at ten o'clock. Apparently, Angel had finally gotten around to finding him a qualified assistant and they were going to write up the contract and put him or her on payroll.

He glanced at the clock, that wasn't for at least three and a half hours, so he had plenty of time to pop out to the local bakery and get something hot and fresh. And maybe a decent cup of coffee. And while he was at it he might as well get a copy of the day's newspaper, after all he did need to stay abreast of current affairs. And maybe hit the pool for a few laps.

After all the hours he had clocked in, he was quite certain that office could do without him until ten.

The strangest thing happened during his little ‘me-time’ break; the steak pie was fresh and delicious, the coffee heavenly, the paper didn't have any front page homicides and the pool was cool and bracing.

He had a decent break without absolutely _anything_ bad happening to him

That was weird yet he was quite sure that he could get used to that state of affairs.

**~o~O~o~**

_He was thrusting into her with all the speed he could manage, causing her to cry out each time his hips met hers. Her nails were digging into his back , almost breaking the skin and drawing blood. His hand were, none to gently, kneading her breasts before she bit down on his lower lip and forced her tongue down his mouth. His hands moved up her body and cupped her face before he returned the kiss with equal ferocity._

_There was neither warmth nor love in that kiss._

_She pulled her face away from his and their eyes met._

_That wasn’t supposed to happen._

_He pulled out of her causing a confused, disappointed expression on her face that quickly disappeared when he grabbed her and roughly forced her face down onto the bed. He was quickly back inside her again, his hands gripping her hips and she bit down on the pillow before her screams could wake the neighbors._

_It didn’t do any good._

Xander stared silently at the ceiling, watching the increasing sunlight play across the surface. _So that's what death tastes like_ , he thought to himself. Harmony repositioned herself so she was now resting on top of him. ‘That thing you did with your finger,’ she said, breaking the silence, ‘Where did that come from?’

‘What?’ said Xander, ‘Didn't you like it?’

‘I actually kind of liked it,’ she admitted, somewhat sheepishly, ‘I’ve never actually let a guy do that before. I might actually go all the way in that area soon, it’s always fun to experiment. I just never pegged you as the kinky type.’

‘Well,’ he responded, ‘It seemed appropriate at the time.’

‘So,’ she began, ‘What exactly happened? I distinctly remember insulting you before you violated me.’

‘You're an evil soulless demon from Hell,’ he stated, ‘I hardly think _that_ of all things ‘violated’ you.’

‘ _Hey!_ ’ she pouted sensitively, ‘I just asked a simple question. You don't have to be mean about it.’

‘Sorry,’ he said insincerely, ‘I guess the insulting thing is kind of a turn on for me. I mean when I think about it, it makes. Most of my relationships have started like that.’ He frowned. ‘Actually, _all_ of my relationships have started like that. I wonder if that's a bad thing. Is the universe trying to tell me something?’ He shrugged.

‘I never really thought of you that way,’ she admitted.

‘Oh so you spent time thinking about me back at good ol' Sunnydale didn't you?’ he asked cockily.

‘ _No!_ ’ she said defensively, ‘If I ever thought about you, it was about how you would wind up with some poor, miserable old librarian wondering about why she was unable to do better.’ Xander chuckled.

‘I bagged myself a cheerleader,’ he retorted proudly, ‘And if I ever thought about you, I imagined you winding up as some old geezer's trophy wife until he decided to upgrade to a younger, hotter model.’

‘We've come a long way since Sunnydale haven't we?’ she asked, placing her chin on his chest so she could look him in the eye, ‘I mean you can actually fight and I can… well I took a night class, got a certificate and a pretty decent job.’ She then laughed mischievously. ‘Do you remember that fight we had a few years back?’ They both burst into laughter which went on for several minutes. Every time they thought they were done, they would make eye contact and it would start all over again. She finally buried her face in his chest and counted to ten until she stopped.

‘Ooooh, God, neither of us came out of that looking any good did we?’ he asked grinning.

‘I thought you had military training or something,’ she said, ‘And, even then, you'd been doing that kind of thing for what, four years?’

‘We all have bad days,’ he said, ‘Anyway, I thought we agreed to never mention that again.’

‘No,’ she stated, ‘You just walked off with the tattered shreds of your dignity and left me there. You didn't say anything.’

‘Well we should have agreed to never mention that again. Hang on, what were you doing anyway?’ he asked, ‘Weren't you burning some of Spike's stuff and –’ He suddenly became silent and his eyes widened. ‘Oh. No,’ he said slowly, ‘I forgot all about that, you and… _Oh no_.’

‘What?’ she asked wickedly, ‘Me and Spike?’

‘Oh _God_ , please stop saying that,’ he requested tersely. She giggled at his discomfort before gently biting his lower lip and rolling him flat on his back and straddling him.

**~o~O~o~**

Spike sat in his Spartan apartment playing Halo on Legendary difficulty. Fred had suggested video games as a form of therapy since his hand were still not a hundred percent since being reattached. Doyle had apparently decided that he didn't need internet so no multiplayer for poor old Spike. ‘Stupid grunt,’ he muttered, ‘Eat a plasma grenade.’ As he watched the alien comically skyrocket the door opened. ‘You know, I was just thinking about you,’ said Spike. Doyle grinned.

‘Nothing good I hope,’ he said before walking over to the fridge and stealing a beer.

‘Isn't it a little early?’ asked Spike irritably.

‘It's still late for me,’ responded Doyle sitting down on the couch and taking of the lid with a knife, ‘Didn't sleep last night. I had a vision.’

‘Good for you,’ said Spike before being killed by the elite with an energy sword for the eighth time, ‘Goddamnit I want this thing to die,’ he cried before slamming down the controller in frustration. Doyle ignored the outburst and continued, ‘Tonight a woman named Jill will be attacked by someone or something at a single's bar called the D'Oblique.’ Spike was only half listening as he was killed, yet again, by the same elite. ‘Look just… Here gimmie,’ he said, snatching the controller out of the vampire's hands.

‘What do you think you're doing,’ he demanded, ‘You don't just… How the Hell did you do that?’ ‘That’ being Doyle taking out the elite with a plasma grenade.

‘You never _ever_ go near that thing,’ he explained, ‘Always keep your distance. Remember the Master Chief isn't as fast or strong as you. You have to be adaptable. And if he gave you trouble… Well let's just say the hunters will hit you like a brick.’ Spike nodded briefly.

‘Plug in the other controller and show me how you did that again.’

**~o~O~o~**

Gunn woke up feeling sore. His left leg still ached from the previous night's fight. He grinned slightly, that had been a _great_ fight. It had some decent action, the part where it looks like all hope is lost and of course the last minute ally coming in all Gandalf and Riders of Rohan style. Yes it was a good fight but he had to stop reminiscing and start getting ready for work. He had a quick shower, put on a black suit with grey pinstripes and made himself some breakfast. While eating, he continued to flick through the copy of _Lord of the Rings_ that Fred had gotten him for his birthday the previous year.

‘I don't know why they just didn't fly there on the eagles,’ he said.

**~o~O~o~**

Fred realised that she was probably going to have to break up with Knox. He was nice enough in a kind of almost sociopathic way but he clearly been working at Wolfram & Hart for too long. Not to mention she had mixed feelings about dating someone who worked under her… as in a subordinate, _nothing_ else. And she had very confusing feelings regarding the head of Research and intelligence that she needed to sort through.

As she chewed on a piece of toast she reached for the phone, intending to call Wesley but pulled back at the last second.

**~o~O~o~**

Lorne looked at his reflection. ‘Could be worse,’ he said to himself, ‘At least I'm getting more sleep.’ Thankfully, the reflection didn't respond. That would be bad.

**~o~O~o~**

Harmony's bedside alarm clock rang out, interrupting the pair on her bed. ‘It's seven-ten,’ she said, pushing him out and off of her, ‘I have to get ready for work and… actually well so do you.’ He looked at her incredulously.

‘You can't just… _stop_ ,’ he said, ‘That's unfair.’

‘Well it sucks to be you,’ she said arching her eyebrows.

‘Okay, vampire,’ he said, ‘Can you _pleeeeease_ not use the word ‘suck’? And while we're on the subject of things not to do; the biting thing is _scary_. Scary, scary, scary, scary, _scary!_ ’

‘Well I am evil,’ she said dryly, looking for a clean pair of socks.

‘Oh yeah,’ he said, ‘Remind me again why haven't killed you?’

‘I dunno,’ she said, positioning herself provocatively, ‘Killing employees on your first day might upset the boss a tad. _He's_ the one who gets to do that. Now I need to have a shower. And no,’ she said to him grinning, ‘Since you were mean, that's _not_ an invitation. You can use it after me.’ She left the bedroom, taking her clothes with her.

Xander collapsed back onto the bed. ‘What the Hell am I doing?’ he said aloud.

**~o~O~o~**

To say the drive to Wolfram & Hart was would be an understatement. Harmony drove – since it was her car after all – and Xander sat silently in the passenger seat. When he reached for the stereo, she slapped his hand away but when he tried to talk she refused to respond and engage him. She pulled into the underground garage for vampire employees and the pair exited the car. Xander looked at her for a second before turning for the entrance. ‘Later,’ he called over his shoulder, without looking back.

‘So that's it?’ she said to herself.

**~o~O~o~**

Gunn, Angel and Wesley all sat facing the young man in front of them. Xander was reading the Wolfram & Hart employment contract in great detail. Angel frowned slightly at him. ‘Look,’ he said apologetically, ‘I trust you guys, more or less, but this _is_ Wolfram  & Hart. I just want to make sure I know what I'm in for.’

‘It's cool,’ said Gunn, ‘You'd be a fool not to read the contract before signing it.’

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘I'm done, no sneaky ‘damn my soul’ things in here. Hang on. What's this Standard perpetuity clause?’

‘If you die while still working here,’ explained Wesley, ‘You are still required to work until your contract expires.’

‘Do I want to know how that works?’ he asked.

‘Probably not.’

If Xander could read minds… Well actually that wouldn't do him much good. However, if he was able to somehow head _vampire_ minds he would learn that the reason for Angel frowning at him was because he could smell something familiar hanging around his newest employee and was mildly curious about what it was. Just _mildly_ curious, mind you. He _was_ the CEO of a major corporation after all. He had very little time to think about the private lives or unlives of his workers.

**~o~O~o~**

‘So this is part of where you will be working,’ explained Wesley, ‘These reference books can become _any_ book the Wolfram  & Hart has.’

‘So they can be any book?’ Xander asked.

‘Well yes,’ said Wesley, ‘In theory, you simply state the title in a clear voice and it should appear on the pages.’

‘Should?’

‘Well, on the more obscure works you may have to do it a few times as it will sometimes jump to an entirely random title.’ Wesley then returned the book he was holding to its usual resting place and continued, ‘In addition to assisting me in research you will also act as a gopher.’

‘Gopher?’ Xander asked.

‘You go for whatever I need and bring it to me,’ he explained.

‘Ok,’ affirmed Xander, ‘What do you need me to do first?’

‘Well,’ said Wesley, ‘Seeing as it is past lunchtime you won't have to get me anything. I'm currently working on uncovering details about an apocalypse scheduled to take place in late 2009. There are fragments of clues buried in various texts, books scrolls and everything else all over the world and I am attempting to piece all the clues together to gain a clearer understanding of what it entails.’

‘Okay,’ said Xander, ‘I'll head down to Files and Records. Maybe, if we're _really_ lucky, someone here might have already done or at least partially done that. If not, there might still be something worth checking down there.’

‘Good idea. I'm going to stay here and see if there are any more clues in the works of Alberti,’ said Wesley reaching again for the tome, ‘Check with me at around three.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘How are you holding up?’ Xander looked up from his folder to see the concerned yet friendly Winifred Burkle. He chuckled a little tiredly.

‘I'm doing okay,’ he said, ‘It helps if I remember this is supposed to save the worlds someday. Anyway, it's not as if I didn't do this most days back in Sunnydale. What are you here for?’

‘I'm looking for the records regarding my predecessor,’ she explained, ‘He apparently went and rigged the science lab with booby traps to activate if he didn't sign in after a year. We had to evacuate the entire floor to be safe. I'm now seeing if there is an off switch mentioned here.’ Xander laughed at her story.

‘Good luck,’ he said wryly, ‘Finding anything in here is like finding something… that… is hard to find. Apparently, there used to be a woman running the place who knew everything that in here but she was killed in an attack on the building last year. I don't suppose you guys had anything to do with that?’ he asked.

‘Oh no,’ she said, ‘Though I did see the aftermath. Not fun at all.’ She then disappeared in the mass of shelves and cabinets as she searched for her predecessor's notes.

**~o~O~o~**

As Angel gazed over client transcripts he heard the doors open. Recognising the scent he asked, ‘Harris, what are you doing here?’ only to be surprised when a slightly red Harmony entered the office. ‘Ah sorry,’ he said awkwardly, ‘I thought… Never mind. _Harmony_ , what are you doing here?’

‘Fred wanted me to tell you that the entire fifth floor had to be evacuated and is unable to be used,’ she explained, ‘Someone set up traps all over, like one guy ended up hung from the ceiling by his –’

‘Yes Harmony,’ he interrupted, ‘I get the picture.’ She turned to leave but he called her back. ‘Oh and while you're here,’ he said, ‘Can you send up Mr. Eric Meyers from the Interment Acquisitions Department?’

‘But I thought we don't have that anymore,’ she said, clearly confused, ‘Didn't you shut it down?’

‘That's what I keep telling him. I think I need to be more _firm_ with him,’ he stated.

‘Right away boss,’ she said before scurrying away.

 _I thought_ she _smelt like Harris?_

**~o~O~o~**

Fred loudly dumped a mountain of papers on the table that Xander was using. ‘Do you mind if I also work here?’ she asked.

‘Nah it's fine,’ he said easily, ‘Free country and all. Although, does that count when one is in an evil lawyer building.’ He scanned the notes of the head of Research and Intelligence during 1973. ‘Alrighty,’ he said softly, ‘I might actually have something.’

‘What was that?’ asked Fred.

‘Oh nothing,’ he said, ‘I just think I might have finally found a starting point. They mention 2008 and an apocalypse but not together. I have to do a bit more digging until I can confirm a link though.

‘Apocalypse?’ she queried, ‘Should I be worried?’

‘Not for a while,’ he laughed, ‘'sides, I thought you lot would be old hands with apocalypses, apocalypseiy, apocaplypti… screw it. Didn't you have that thing last year? You know eternal night, fire raining from the sky thing?’

‘I'm not sure that actually counted,’ she said, ‘What about you? You don't seem concerned, have you seen one?’ He laughed.

‘I have actually seen _five_ apocalypses,’ he said proudly.

‘ _Five!_ ’ she exclaimed in shock.

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘One with the Master of the vampires rising up, yes, it was small but it technically counted, another with the mayor turning into a pure demony snake thing, then there was the one where we fought a god and Buffy died (‘That would have been just when I got back,’ she interrupted briefly.), then there was the time Willow tried to level the Earth and then there was last year where… Well, stuff happened.’

‘That was where Spike died right?’ she asked. Immediately, she knew she went somewhere she should have not and that she would have to tread carefully.

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘Everyone mourned Spike.’

‘Did anyone _else_ die?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, there were a few others,’ he said.

‘Did _you_ lose anyone?’ she asked, her curiosity outweighing her sense of tactfulness.

‘Yes,’ he said stiffy, ‘I-I had a - friend. I- _We_ lost her.’

_Just a friend?_

‘Sorry if I hit a sore point.’ She said softly.

‘No, it's fine,’ he said smoothly.

‘Is that why you left?’ she probed.

‘Why are you so interested?’ he asked irritably before regaining his composure, ‘I apologise. That was… beneath me. Yes, that was part of the reason why I left, there were other reasons…’ He rambled and finished somewhat awkwardly before returning to his paper.

The uncomfortable silence lingered for a while as they resumed their work, the quiet only broken by the occasional shuffling of paper. The silence was only broken half an hour later when Xander finally spoke.

‘If I tell you, could you keep it to yourself?’ he asked.

‘As long as it's nothing threatening to anyone, sure,’ she said.

‘Her name was Anya – my friend, that is,’ he said falteringly, ‘We were kind of together. I mean, we were engaged but then we broke up but we got together again in the end and when she died, I-I couldn't deal with it. With any of it. Even Buffy.’

‘I thought Buffy was your friend,’ she asked, confused.

‘She was- _is_ ,’ he stated, ‘It's just, towards the end… Look, it's no secret that I have a problem with Angel right?’ She nodded, wondering where this was going. ‘I love Buffy more than my own blood relatives but, at best, she will only ever be a good leader. Angel, on the other hand, despite any bad feelings on my part is a _great_ leader. From the little I've seen and heard, he knows how to smoothly and efficiently run his team, be it a small group or a large global company. He knows how just how much to push his people, when to step back and let them work, when to be tough, when to be anything. She never did and she still doesn't.’

‘How so?’

‘You met Faith right?’ She nodded. ‘Well, let's just say that by the time she was done, the psychotic, murderous _bitch_ of a Slayer was actually the voice of reason. That's how bad things got. Sorry if this is all random,’ he said, ‘I just… I need to get it out and I don't think that there is a shrink that specialises in the paranormal.’

‘It's fine,’ she said understandingly, ‘We all get that way from time to time.’

‘Thanks,’ he said, ‘Well anyway, I've spent the past two months all over the country; I even accidently wound up in Peru at one point and ended up having to outrun the entire Peruvian military.’ Her eyes narrowed.

‘Do I _want_ to know?’ she asked.

‘Probably not,’ he admitted.

‘What was Anya like?’ she asked suddenly. Xander grinned.

‘She was…’ he began, ‘She was undefinable. She whatever she wanted to be, what others thought of her be damned. She was shallow, selfish and the most loving, caring person that I've ever encountered and yet I still decided to screw her over.’ Fred looked at him with a confused expression; should she ask him what he meant or was that another sore point? Luckily, he continued talking and answered her unasked question. ‘I told you we were engaged,’ he said, ‘What I didn't say was that I left her at the altar, in the rain. I was scared that I would wind up like my dad and destroy her life so I high tailed it out of there. I should have just married her, I mean she was gonna die in a few months anyway; even _I_ couldn't ruin someone's life that quickly. Anyway, after a few months, after I got this (he pointed at his eye patch), we were together again and I honestly think it would have worked. We knew exactly who we were and where we wanted to go.’ He exhaled. ‘And then she went and died.’

‘So why are you here?’ asked Fred, ‘I mean, you told me you did your whole walking the Earth thing for the past two months. What changed?’

‘I think maybe I did,’ he said, ‘I just imagined what she'd say if she could see me like I was and I don't think she would've been all that impressed. Not only that, I've tried to start my life several times now; I did a series of odd jobs when everyone else was at college, I then worked at a construction site for a bit, that was actually pretty good and then finally I was the handyman-slash-lackey for Buffy. That gets old pretty fast. I just want something stable that I'm good at. So I'm here.’ He tapped the table to accentuate his statement. He looked at his digital watch. It read _02:42_. ‘It's almost three,’ he said, ‘I should probably head and check in with Wesley and show him what I have.’ He stood up, put all of his papers into a folder and headed for the door. However, what Fred next stopped him in his tracks.

‘So why did you sleep with Harmony?’ she asked casually. He stopped as though he had walked straight into an invisible wall.

‘How do you –’ he began before calming down and starting over, ‘I mean; what makes you say that?’ he asked.

‘Aside from your little reaction just then?’ she asked pointedly, ‘Unless you've taken to wearing _Flowerbomb_ perfume, it seems like the best guess. She's the only one around here who uses it.’

_Next time, use more soap._

She waited expectantly wondering whether or not he would explode at her.

‘I don't know,’ he finally stated, not looking at her, ‘She was there and… uh… I was lonely and she was something familiar, even if it wasn't exactly a good familiar. I just wanted to feel needed. I used her,’ he admitted, ‘It shouldn't bother me. I mean it's not like she has a soul but it does.’

‘Are you going to do it again?’ she asked.

‘No,’ he said immediately, ‘Probably not,’ he added, ‘Maybe, probably, almost certainly. I should go, Wesley needs this.’

**~o~O~o~**

Wesley gazed over the documents, paying particular attention to the notes Xander had scribbled in the margins. ‘This is good,’ he said finally, ‘It seems one of my predecessors was clearly on the right track.’ Unbeknownst to him, Xander silently breathed a sigh of relief, he _really_ didn't want to screw up on his first day and from what he remembered, Wesley had been harsh when it came to feedback. ‘While there isn't _everything_ here, there is a damn sight more than what we already had. Good job.’

‘Thanks, sir,’ said Xander.

‘You don't have to call me Sir,’ said Wesley, ‘Just Wesley is fine.’

‘Yes, Just Wesley.’ Wesley chuckled wearily.

‘Xander,’ he said, ‘You were not funny back in Sunnydale and you are not funny now. You have a job now; you do not need to try your hand at being a comedian.’

‘See?’ said Xander, grinning, ‘This is progress. Back in Sunnydale you would have just whacked me in the back of the head.’

‘Well,’ responded Wesley, ‘When we were Sunnydale, Fred hadn't threatened me into being nice. For some reason she wants you and I to get on.’

‘You know,’ mused Xander, ‘For such a little thing she can be awfully scary when she puts her mind to it.’

‘Yes she is indeed different to other ladies,’ agreed Wesley. Xander hesitated for a second before responding.

‘Are you ever actually going to make a play for her?’ he asked.

‘I beg your pardon?’ he responded sharply.

‘Hey,’ said Xander defensively, ‘It's just… She knows about you liking her and I got the idea that she was interested.’

‘I am your boss, Harris,’ he began angrily, ‘My private life is not for – Sorry, what was that last part?’

‘When I was in observation, I mentioned that I thought you liked her,’ he answered, ‘Don't ask – your body language practically screams it. Anyway, she wasn't laughing or treating it like a joke, she seemed serious. And before you ask; I'm _not_ trying to curry favour with the new boss. She was nice to me when I needed… someone nice. This is me trying to return the favour.’

‘She likes me?’

‘You know,’ said Xander pointing to his one good eye, ‘This thing is for more than just decoration it actually _sees_ stuff.’

**~o~O~o~**

Gunn heard a knock on the door. ‘Xander,’ he said, greeting the newcomer, ‘What can I do for you.’

‘I just wanted to hand in the contract,’ he said placing it on his desk, ‘See? All signed.’

‘So you decided to stay on?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ Xander answered, ‘I guess I did. I think I could get used to the whole nine to five thing.’

‘It does have its advantages,’ Gunn agreed, ‘Speaking of; I did mean to mention this earlier, sorry about that. Did you know that you could get that eye replaced?’ Xander looked at him in shock, his hand involuntarily touching the eye patch. ‘The firm used to kidnap unimportant employees and harvest their organs but now with the new administration, they get everything from people who donate their bodies when they die. If you wanted I could talk to Angel and speed up the process.’

After he left the office, Xander pondered the implications. If he asked for it, he could get his eye back.

**~o~O~o~**

 ‘Honey I'm fairly certain that Bob Crane has been dead for a while,’ said Lorne into receiver of his brand new mobile phone as he strode down the halls of Wolfram & Hart. After the Halloween ‘incident’, Fred bought him one so he could go home to sleep but still get into contact with clients at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, ‘No,’ he said, keeping the irritation well away from his voice, ‘We are _not_ going to raise him back from the dead. I keep telling you we can't do that. Yes he was very funny, yes it was sad what happened… You know what? I'm going through a tunnel – I can't hear… You're breaking up – _kkkkkk ahhhhhhh, cchhhhhhh_.’ With a hearty chuckle he hit the end call button and returned the phone to his pocket. Spotting a familiar figure amidst the sea of suited lawyers he changed direction and headed towards the lost looking Xander Harris. ‘You lost, sugar?’ he asked kindly. Xander turned to look at him.

‘Hey,’ he said, ‘No I'm not so much lost as just trying to learn my way around. I'm actually off the clock right now.’

‘Yeah this place does take getting used to,’ Lorne agreed, ‘It took me ages to find out where everyone else was. Anyway, how was your first day?’

‘It was great,’ he answered, ‘I d ** _i_** d all this stuff back at Sunnydale except this time I get to take home a pay cheque. Speaking of home do you know of any good places to rent in L.A.?’

‘Where are you staying right now?’ asked Lorne.

‘I'm staying at a backpacker's lodge on the outskirts,’ he answered, ‘Just a temporary gig until I find a proper place.’

‘Well I can't think of anything off the top of my head,’ Lorne answered, frowning slightly, ‘But I can put out a few feelers if you like. Something will turn up. If you don't want that,’ he added, ‘You could go to Gunn and see if there are any vacancies in employee housing.’

‘I think I'll stick with the first one,’ Xander answered, ‘I know I work here and there's a completely new regime but I think I'd feel safer I wasn't here _all_ of the time’

‘No problem,’ said Lorne smoothly, ‘I understand perfectly. I'll get back to you in a few days and let you know if I find anything.’

‘Thanks,’ said Xander patting him on the shoulder, ‘I'll see you round.’

**~o~O~o~**

_SMACK!_

Harmony's palm slapped sharply against Xander's face. He smiled awkwardly.

‘Sorry?’ he said. He quickly grabbed her hand before she could hit him again. ‘Don't do that again. Jeez that hurts.’

‘It's less than you deserve,’ she said.

‘What exactly did I do?’ he asked, ‘And if you hit me again I swear I'm reaching for a stake.’

‘You just,’ she began, ‘You know…?’ She shrugged helplessly.

‘Know what?’ he asked, ‘Seriously? Is this a thing with all of the girls I sleep with? Weird vagueness and other… stuff?’ He exhaled slowly. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I don't think a public parking lot is the best place for this kind of thing. Do you want to get a cup of coffee and talk about what the hell happened last night like rational adults?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will have a new spin on 'Smile Time.'


	5. You're Wlcome

**_Three weeks before Xander's employment at Wolfram & Hart began_ **

**_Location: Edinburgh, Scotland_ **

**_Midnight_ **

If there was one thing Rupert Giles hated it was the inability to sleep despite feeling exhausted. And yet, despite his strong dislike for it, that had become the norm for several weeks now. He looked over at his bed side clock; it read _12:02am_. He had just less than five hours to sleep before getting up too meet the girls for early morning training. Next to the alarm clock was a half drained botte of vintage scotch. He reached out for it before pulling back his hand. No, the answers certainly didn't lie there.

The phone rang, distracting him from his musings. ‘Hello,’ he said tiredly, ‘Rupert Giles speaking. Who's calling?’

‘Giles it's me.’ The warm voice of the young made him briefly smile.

‘Hello Willow,’ he said, ‘Are you and the girls on the plane yet?’

‘No not yet,’ the witch answered, ‘There's a slight delay. Oh _sorry_ ,’ she said with a tone of contrition, ‘I forgot about the time difference; did I wake you?’

‘No, no it's fine,’ he assured her, ‘I was awake. Did you find what you were looking for?’

Willow and Kennedy had spent the past two months travelling across South America looking for activated Slayers to recruit. They were supposed to have left Lima for Edinburgh three days before but all of the airports had been closed as the entire city had been placed in lockdown; nobody in or out. Apparently there was a citywide manhunt of some sort yet, strangely enough, there was not a single wanted poster or photograph of whoever it was responsible for the disturbance. If it had been just her travelling, she would have simply charmed her way across the border, however, she also had three young girls in tow and she didn't want to put them in any danger. Besides, three extra days in a luxury hotel didn't make it seem so bad, _especially_ when Kennedy insisted on taking advantage of the privacy.

There had also been another thing that persuaded her to stay; she could sense something in the city. It was faint but she felt it was calling to her. It felt familiar.

‘No,’ she answered, ‘False alarm. I went all over and yet I found squat. The girls didn't mind though. I think you're really going to like these ones. And anyway,’ she said in a disapproving tone, ‘What are you doing up anyway?’

‘Couldn't sleep,’ he answered. She immediately understood the unspoken reason.

‘It's been difficult for everyone since Africa,’ she said quietly, ‘And we've been over this, it was _not_ your fault. It wasn't any of ours, none of us were even on the same continent.’

‘It doesn't matter,’ he protested, ‘I knew he wasn't coping with Anya's death, _Christ,_ I knew he was drinking and yet I still put him on the duty roster.’

‘You tried to tell him to take a break,’ she soothed, ‘He wouldn't have any of it. He _insisted_ on going to Africa.’

‘I could have tried to talk to him,’ he argued, ‘If it had been Buffy, Dawn or you I would have done it in a heartbeat but with him… I didn't.’

‘Xander didn't talk about his problems,’ she said, ‘Hell, you saw his parents. He grew up with _that_ and he never complained. In fact, he did his absolute best to ensure Buffy _never_ found out what they used to do him. I know what you're doing,’ she said understandingly, ‘You want to punish yourself so _someone_ pays for his… But it's not going to bring him back.’

‘I know that,’ he said wearily, ‘I should get some sleep.’

‘Goodnight Giles,’ she said, ‘Though can you do me a favour?’

‘Anything.’

‘Try not to think about it when you're alone.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Two weeks after Xander's employment at Wolfram & Hart began_ **

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart headquarters, Las Angeles branch, lobby _ **

**_Morning_ **

‘I don't see what the big problem is,’ Xander said, holding the door open for Harmony, ‘It's just a drawer.’

‘It's what the drawer represents moron,’ she retorted.

‘What does it represent?’ he asked incredulously, ‘I spend most of my nights over at your place, so why not a drawer? It would be a damn sight easier than having to always run back to my place to get ready for work. Or,’ he said, ‘Just putting it out there; why not occasionally spend the night at my place?’

‘Have you _seen_ your place?’ she responded waspishly, ‘Until you find an actual place that isn't a disgusting backpacker's lodge; I don't see that happening. Seriously, the people that live there are creepy.’

‘You’re banging one of the people that live there!’ She poked her tongue out at him in response causing him to throw his hands up in exasperation. ‘Why do I put up with this?’ he asked of no one in particular.

‘Probably because I let you touch my boobs,’ she responded.

‘Yeah,’ he agreed, ‘That would explain it.’

‘What are you two fighting about this time?’ asked Fred, wearily walking over to the pair.

‘She's being controlling,’ he answered.

‘Well _he's_ being demanding,’ she insisted.

‘Uh, context?’ Fred asked. _Why did I involve myself in this?_

‘I spend a lot of time at her place,’ he explained, ‘So all I ask for is a place to put a couple of shirts so I don't have to go back and forth all of the time.’

‘However,’ she retorted, ‘Since he has so refused to put a label on whatever the hell we’re doing, I don't think I'm obligated to do _anything_.’ She paused, mid tirade, to allow Rudy to scan her for human blood. For some reason, he was rather hesitant in approaching her. ‘Oh come on Rudy, she said with exasperation, ‘I promise not to knock you out, tie you up, gag you and stuff you in the closet.’

‘That seemed oddly specific,’ mused Xander.

‘Don't ask,’ muttered Fred, quiet enough for Harmony not to hear her.

‘You're clean,’ said Rudy before practically fleeing the scene.

‘ _Really?_ ’ asked Harmony, ‘Was that really the worst thing to happen to you here? This is a building of evil lawyers, there has to have been other things!’

‘Are you absolutely _sure_ I don't want to know?’ asked Xander.

‘You really don't,’ she replied. Harmony's pager beeped.

‘That's Angel,’ she explained, ‘I better see what he wants.’ She lightly pecked Xander on the cheek, completely contrasting with her behaviour merely seconds ago and dashed off to the elevator.

‘Why are women always complete nutcases?’ he asked Fred. He then realised that that probably was not the wisest thing to say. ‘Well, to be fair, what I meant was…’ he began before backpedalling, ‘Nope, I'm not going to defend that one.’

‘Good idea,’ she said archly. As she turned to leave, he suddenly remembered that he had wanted to ask her something.

‘Uh, Fred?’ he asked, ‘I need an address from you.’

‘Another vampire nest?’ she asked sceptically.

‘Not really,’ he answered seriously, ‘There's someone I need to see.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Late evening_ **

It was strange that despite how little she had changed, she looked like a completely different person. Five years can do that to you, Xander thought idly.

‘I'm sorry I didn't come sooner,’ he began, ‘I should have but it was… difficult. That's not the right word, I don't know, it felt like that me coming here would make it really… real. I know that's stupid but hey, stupid is kind of my thing. Anyway, I suppose I just wanted to hold onto the illusion that it didn't actually happen. That everyone else was somehow wrong. But that's not real life and I shouldn't have neglected you to cater to some ridiculous fantasy that I had concocted. In fact, given the things I've seen, it was especially stupid of me and I'm sorry.’

He looked down at the comatose figure.

‘I'm sorry, Cordelia.’

He stayed with her for until the nurse informed him that visiting hours were over. He left the small room and had barely made it to the stairwell when the nurse suddenly ran after him.

‘She's awake,’ she said breathlessly.

Xander immediately sprinted all the way back down the hall back to Cordelia's room. He gathered so much momentum that when he meant to stop at her door he skidded through it and landed in a heap on the floor.

‘That was random,’ said an amused voice. Xander looked up and there she was, radiant, beautiful and, most of all, awake; Cordelia Chase in all her glory. He rose to his feet and pulled her into a massive bear hug.

‘Cordelia!’ he exclaimed happily.

‘Er sorry,’ she said, confused, ‘Do I know…?’ She looked carefully at his face. ‘Xander?’ she said hesitantly, ‘Is that you?’

‘Yeah, it's me,’ he answered, still grinning like an idiot, ‘It's been a while.’

‘That's new,’ she said, nodding at his eye patch.

‘Long story,’ he said, ‘Not to be a buzz kill or anything but we should probably keep it down. I don't want to wake the person sleeping there.’ He nodded his head in the direction of the motionless figure lying on the bed before frowning slightly. ‘Although, now that I think about it, I didn't actually notice her here before.’ Cordelia moved and closed the privacy curtain around the bed, blocking the sleeping figure from view.

‘Trust me, I don't think she'll be waking up anytime soon,’ she said quickly, ‘And, not to rude or anything, but what are you doing here? We're still in L.A. right?’ she asked.

‘Yes we are still in the sunny city,’ he answered before his tone became somewhat evasive, ‘As for why I'm here; well I'm just hanging around, seeing the sights, you know.’

‘Uh-huh,’ she answered, obviously unconvinced but letting the subject drop for now.

‘Oh,’ he said, suddenly remembering, ‘Thought you might want to know that Sunnydale is kind of gone.’

‘'Kind of gone?'‘ she asked, eyebrows raised.

‘Yeah we kind of… levelled it,’ he said, sounding like a child who accidently sent a football though a window, ‘Oops?’

‘I'm sure that there's an explanation of some kind?’ she asked.

‘Well,’ he responded, ‘Like I said, it's kind of a long story. What happened was …’

**~o~O~o~**

Angel and Wesley walked hesitantly into the hospital room to see Xander and Cordelia chatting. Or rather Xander recounting the fight against the First and Cordelia listening in astonishment slash amusement. ‘No way,’ she was saying, ‘I don't believe that. She really tied you up to a wheel?’

‘Seriously,’ he said, ‘No that I think about it, you were actually the only normal non demony girl I dated.’

‘Well,’ she said awkwardly, ‘About that…’ She trailed off when she saw the familiar figures standing in the doorway.

‘Angel,’ she cried out, pulling him into a long hug. Angel whispered her name softly, hesitantly; almost afraid she would disappear if he said it too loud. ‘It's me,’ she quietly reassured him. Xander watched the interaction with interest. _Did Cordelia and Angel ever…? Nah, I'm being ridiculous. Or am I? I should really stop having these internal monologues._ Angel then stepped back so Wesley could also get a hug. Wesley was practically giddy; a far cry from the stuffy would be Watcher from all those years back.

‘It's extraordinary,’ he said, still beaming away, ‘You're— you look... I don't want to say really hot…’

‘Oh, yes, you do,’ she responded, touching her shoulders and looking heavenward, ‘I'm a vision of hotliness, and how weird is that? Mystical comas? You know, if you can stand the horror of a higher power hijacking your mind and body so that it can give birth to itself, I really recommend 'em.’

‘Now I'm lost,’ said Xander, ‘You gave birth to what?’

‘You remember.’ Angel’s smile disappeared.

‘Last year?’ said Cordelia, ‘Yeah. I remember everything... pretty much. At least until I slipped into slumber land. Maternal instincts aside, I hope you kicked its ass for me.’ Angel said nothing but he did shoot an awkward look at Wesley. What _did_ he remember? Cordelia noted the look. ‘Is everybody all right?’ she asked nervously.’

‘Yeah. Uh...great,’ mumbled Angel, ‘We're all…’

‘Super,’ finished Wesley.

‘Yeah,’ agreed Angel, ‘Super. Hey, why don't we get you out of here?’

‘Ooh! I love that plan,’ said Cordelia, looking at her hospital gown, ‘I hope you brought me some clothes, 'cause… damn.’

‘Oh, well, we…’ stammered Angel.

‘We could stop and buy some,’ suggested Wesley. At that suggestion, Cordelia gave a girlish squeal and clapped enthusiastically.

‘Ooh! Great! Shopping!’ she exclaimed eagerly, ‘I love that idea, 'cause, you know, I'm not so ready to go back to the hotel yet.’

‘That's not going to be a problem,’ said Angel.

**~o~O~o~**

‘I can't,’ Cordelia said distressingly.

‘It's okay,’ Angel assured her, motioning for her to exit the elevator. She sighed theatrically and with an expression of long suffering, she entered the lobby of Wolfram & Hart.

‘See?’ he said, ‘It's just an office. Going about its day. Nothing scary popping out at you. Just regular people…’ He trailed off when Cordelia found herself face to face with Sebassis's pale, emaciated, horned slave looking at her plaintively as he was led through the lobby on a chain. Xander smirked darkly.

‘Now that's just unfortunate timing,’ he said dryly. Angel looked panicky and quickly stepped between her and the pathetic looking creature.

‘That's—ha—nothing,’ he quickly stammered, ‘Hey, do you wanna see my office?’

Cordelia nodded nervously as she watched the slave get dragged away.

**~o~O~o~**

Lorne pulled Cordelia into a hug and happily spun her around. ‘It's good to see you…’ she began before noticing the now no longer bald Charles Gunn. ‘Oh my God,’ she exclaimed, rushing over to him, receiving yet another hug, ‘You have hair!’ He chuckled.

‘What did you think?’ he asked, ‘That I was prematurely bald?’ When she didn't respond he quickly added, ‘I wasn't.’ Fred tapped Gunn on the shoulder to let him know that it was her turn for a hug.

‘Hi, Fred,’ she said warmly, ‘Now,’ she said to Angel, ‘Where's Connor?’

‘Who?’ Gunn asked casually.

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, ‘Angel? Where's your…?’ She was interrupted by a happy, girlish squeal of _epic_ proportions as Harmony practically stampeded Cordelia and hugged her tightly around the neck.

‘I can't believe you're here,’ she said ecstatically.

‘Likewise,’ responded Cordelia with a tone of annoyance in her voice, ‘Especially since the last time I saw you, you tried to kill me.’

‘You did _what?_ ’ Xander asked.

‘Nothing you need to worry about, Sweetie,’ she said, ‘All water under the bridge.’ One of Cordelia's perfect eyebrows raised a notch. Okay, it was actually several notches but let's not split hairs on the exact measurement of notches.

_Sweetie? Is that an ironic insult or something?_ Her musings were interrupted by Angel's explanation.

‘She's kind of my secretary,’ he said timidly.

‘Oh?’ she said, turning on him with a fake smile plastered over her face, ‘Well things just get better and better.’

‘I know,’ said Harmony, excited and oblivious to Cordelia's expression, ‘You and me together again. So, how was the coma?’ Angel quickly rushed to Cordelia's defence.

‘Uh, Harmony? I think Cordy's had enough excitement for the day,’ he said before addressing everyone, ‘Why don't you— Why doesn't everybody get back to work?’

**~o~O~o~**

After practically dragging his... vampire not girlfriend out of the office, Xander turned to Fred and asked, ‘Are Cordy and Angel…? Are they… you know, together?’ Fred and Lorne exchanged a look.

‘Afraid I couldn't tell you that munchkin,’ said Lorne after thinking about it for a bit, ‘There was… something there but, as for how far it actually went, you'd have to ask them.’

‘I'll pass,’ he said. Chatting to Angel about his love was not something he particularly wanted to do. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure about where he stood in regards to Angel. Since he had started working at Wolfram & Hart, he had barely exchanged two words with the brooding CEO. He didn't hate him as much as he did in the past but he also uncomfortable with how vulnerable he was when he had asked for his job. Aside from Fred, he was still the only person to know that Anya had died and that he was in a sort of self-imposed exile, estranged from his surrogate family.

‘Oh by the way,’ continued Lorne, ‘I know it's a little late and everything but I think I might have found you an apartment.’ Xander looked ecstatic.

‘Lorne,’ he said, ‘I don't know how you did it but you just made this day even better. Cordy's awake, Wesley has deemed me competent enough to help with some minor spell work and now I might soon be able to move out of that flea farm they call accommodation. This is just the best day ever.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Italy, Venice_ **

**_One a.m._ **

The sound of soft sobbing woke Buffy from her slumber. It was coming down the hall; Dawn's room. Buffy frowned, wondering why she was still up. They were going to have to be early risers if they were to catch their flight t Edinburgh in five hours. Buffy and Dawn had been living in Rome for the past two months, establishing to the town that the Slayer, _the_ Slayer was in Italy and _nowhere_ else. Now they were going to leave and another Slayer, with a Striking resemblance to the elder Summers girl, was going to stay and fool the world about Buffy's location. Also, she was apparently going to date some guy named The Immortal. Andrew said it was funny for some vague reason but she never asked why. She liked him and everything but talking to him could be downright _excruciating_ at times.

She regretfully rose from her bed and went out to see Dawn sitting down in the hallway, tears silently falling down her face. Without a word, she sat down next to her sister and pulled her into a sideways hug, Dawn resting her head on Buffy's shoulder. ‘What's wrong?’ she asked after sitting there for several minutes.

‘It's stupid,’ Dawn sniffed.

‘Come on,’ Buffy pressed gently, ‘Whatever it is, it's not stupid.’

‘I was putting away some final things and I found this in the back pocket of an old pair of jeans,’ she said finally, handing Buffy something. It was a heavily folded photograph with the old gang, taken before the incident with Glory. Three faces leapt out at her; the faces of Tara, Anya and Xander, their smiles forever in that image. Xander's face was whole and undamaged, his eyes holding a fire and energy that seemed to die with his lover. ‘I miss him,’ Dawn said simply, ‘I miss them all and I just want people to… I don't know, stop dying or whatever.’

‘I didn't know you were still grieving,’ said Buffy softly, ‘If you're feeling like this, you should talk about it. Back when I had my sob story after being resurrected, I _never_ spoke to anyone about it and look how that turned out.’ Dawn sniffed.

‘How do you do it?’ she asked, ‘How do you keep it together so well? I mean, it was only _two_ months ago.’

‘I have to,’ she said plainly, ‘We didn't part on good terms. I was… not there when he needed me and he snapped, we fought and he left for Africa the next day. I can't think about it because if I did… I… If I do… I can't operate, I can't do anything.’ A solitary tear trickled down the side of her face.

‘I miss him too, Dawn.’

**~o~O~o~**

It was now the second hour of research. Cordelia had told Angel that she was woken by a vision from the Powers That Be and that featured Angel in danger and odd looking symbols tattooed onto human flesh. It was now down to Wesley, Xander and Cordelia to search for those symbols in the musty books and scrolls that Wesley always kept in his office.

Five years ago, Xander would have been bored out his skull but now, he couldn't stop the feelings of nostalgia wash over him. It was almost just like the good old days when Cordelia was still in Sunnydale, Buffy had yet to undergo a dramatic personality shift and the ties between the group was unbreakable.

‘You're doing it again,’ said Cordelia pointedly.

‘Sorry, Cordy,’ he said automatically before asking, ‘What am I doing?’

‘You're grinning like a lunatic,’ she informed him.

‘Sorry,’ he said again, still grinning, ‘Can't help it.’

‘You're usually never this enthusiastic about work,’ Wesley dryly noted, barely looking up from his scroll.

‘Well,’ he responded, reaching for a water bottle, ‘I rarely see death held back like this. It's just… after everything that's happened… It means a lot to get a win like this.’

‘No pressure right?’ she deadpanned. As Xander took a drink a mischievous smile broke out across her face as a sudden thought occurred to her. ‘Why did Harmony call you ‘Sweetie’?’ Xander spat out the water in surprise, spraying Wesley. He then choked slightly as some of the water went down the wrong way. ‘Well that was dramatic,’ she deadpanned.

‘I am sorry,’ he said slowly, ‘What was that?’

‘Sorry, Zeppo,’ she said, her eyes twinkling, ‘I asked why Harmony referred to you as ‘Sweetie’.’

‘I have to admit that I am also rather curious,’ said Wesley, drying his glasses on the hem of his shirt.

‘It's probably just a thing,’ he said hastily, ‘I mean she calls everyone stuff like that.’

‘No Xander,’ said Wesley, mock sternly, ‘That's _Lorne's_ thing. And now that I think about it, the pair of you seem to arrive at work around the exact same time.’ Cordelia's eyes widened.

‘I was _joking_ ,’ she said, ‘I didn't think anything… But… you – her? Seriously?’

‘No comment,’ he stated resolutely, ‘Can we go back to when you two kept making goo-goo eyes at each other? Whatever happened, by the way, that stopped that?’ Wesley and Cordelia both made eye contact and grimaced. Xander, happy that the attention was now safely away from him, pressed the attack. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘Spill.’

‘Um, we decided that seeing as I was in a position of authority that it would be entirely inappropriate,’ said Wesley. Xander rolled his eyes.

‘ _Riiight_ ,’ he said, obviously unconvinced but letting the matter rest. They were quiet for several minutes as they worked, the silence only broken by them asking Cordelia if the symbols they found were the ones in her vision. Cordelia finally groaned and looked up.

‘Remember how I said, ‘Let's not have your department looking for those symbols I saw in my vision. Let's do this like we used to, you and me cracking the books’?’

‘Yes,’ said Wesley.

‘Well, that was dumb,’ she said, ‘What'd you ever listen to me for?’ Wesley smiled.

‘I don't know. I think I sort of missed this. You and me and the books, ‘kicking it old school,’ as they say,’ he said in what he assumed was a hip manner before wincing, ‘And I never will again.’ Cordelia and Xander laughed at his discomfort before Cordelia's expression suddenly became serious.

‘Wes?’ she asked hesitantly before getting up and walking over to him, ‘Last year, when that, um, higher...whatever took over my body, did those things. Nobody's talking about it.’

‘What's to say?’ he said, quickly, ‘We all understand it wasn't you.’

‘Do you?’ she asked him directly. He resolutely looked her in the eye.

‘You didn't kill Lilah,’ he said slowly and deliberately. Xander looked distinctly uncomfortable.

‘Do want me to go…? Do you want me to give you guys a minute or something?’ he asked, ‘I could do a Starbucks run or something.’

‘No, Xander, you should stay,’ said Wesley, ‘You're part of the team, and you should know the history.’ Xander was speechless. He knew that this moment was absolutely _not_ about him but that was the first time someone at Wolfram  & Hart actually treated him like a team member and not just someone who everyone should treat like broken glass. Cordelia noted the expression on his face and, though she didn't comment on it, the corners of her lips twitched just slightly. She then looked down at Wesley's book and said excitedly, ‘Hey, that's them. The tats. Look.’ She pointed out the particular symbols to the other two. Wesley looked at them intently.

‘Protection runes derived from the Enochian alphabet,’ he mused thoughtfully, ‘The ones from your vision are symbols, some kind of concealment spell. 'Clouds before the all-seeing eyes.'‘

‘Mmm. OK. This part I didn't miss. Cryptic poetry,’ she stated.

‘They protect the bearer from being viewed remotely from higher powers, seers, mystics,’ he explained, ‘Or, transposed to today, any means of modern surveillance.’

‘Sounds like someone's camera shy,’ Xander said thoughtfully.

**~o~O~o~**

Lindsey walked down a corridor deep in the bowels of Wolfram & Hart. He stopped at a door marked 'Maintenance: Restricted Access', swiped a keycard in a reader to unlock it, and walked through the door, closing it behind him. Lindsey then sauntered down a staircase and found himself facing a net of green laser beams. He purposefully strode right through them without incident. Once past them, he looked up into the nearest security camera and mockingly waved 'hello', confident that he could not be seen by even the most observant security.

Angel was going to die today, by his design

He was going to enjoy every single, solitary second of this.

**~o~O~o~**

‘This place is like a rat maze,’ murmured Cordelia as she rather timidly walked the halls of Wolfram & Hart. ‘Complete with rats,’ she noted as she observed the lawyers go from what she assumed was their daily 2:30 p.m. puppy kicking. She had to find Angel to tell him that they found out what the tattoos were. The directions that Wesley had given her seemed straightforward at the time but now she was certain she had passed that potted plant three times now. She suddenly saw a familiar bleached blonde figure walking towards her. Walking rather quickly towards her now that she thought about it. ‘Spike?’ she said somewhat hesitantly, still not used to not thinking of him as a threat, ‘Well, well. I heard you weren't evil anymore, which kind of makes the hair silly.’ His face morphed into his vampire façade before he grabbed her hair and plunged his fangs into her neck.

A mere second later, he pulled back, his now normal face wearing an expression of deep confusion. Before he could make a comment, however, he was charged by an enraged Angel, who pinned him to the wall before proceeding to beat the ever loving crap out of him. Spike responded by kicking him in the stomach before forcing him into a headlock.

‘You took me on and lost, remember, old man?’ he smirked.

‘Touch Cordelia again,’ Angel began to reply before breaking free of the grip and forcing the younger vampire to the carpet, ‘And you better be for our very last rematch.’

‘She's evil, you gormless tit,’ said Spike getting to his feet.

‘Excuse me?’ said Cordelia, quite indignantly, ‘Who bit whom?’

‘Did you just call me a tit?’ demanded Angel.

‘I thought he had a soul,’ said Cordelia.

‘I thought _she_ didn't,’ insisted Spike.

‘I do,’ asserted Cordelia.

‘So do I,’ said Spike.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘Clearly mine's better.’

‘Look,’ said Spike, taking a step towards her before Angel threw him into the wall.

‘I see fangs, I'm gonna play dentist,’ he said viciously.

‘And you called this guy the big hero?’ asked Cordelia, clearly having no idea on what the hell was happening.

‘You called me a hero?’ Spike asked, his whole demeanour brightening like a boy whose father said that he was proud of him for the first time ever.

‘I didn't know you were eating people,’ retorted Angel, clearly not happy about Spike knowing about his comment to Cordelia. Spike responded by head butting him, causing both vampires to keel over in pain.

‘Ow! God,’ he groaned, ‘It was a taste test, you git. I needed to know if what my source said is true.’

‘What source?’ Angel demanded.

‘I've got a guy,’ Spike explained, ‘Has an in with the powers that whatsit. Gets these visions.’

‘Visions?’ repeated Angel, locking eyes with Cordelia.

‘Yeah,’ said Spike, ‘Said Cordelia was taken over by some big bad. Came to destroy you all.’

‘His vision's a re-run,’ said Cordelia, rolling her eyes.

‘The thing that possessed Cordy's long dead, Spike,’ said Angel, slightly calmer now that things were starting to get explained.

‘Well, looks like tattoo boy was wrong this time,’ grumbled Spike, mentally making a note to throttle his ‘benefactor’ the next time he saw him.

‘Tattoos? What kind of tattoos?’ Cordelia urgently demanded.

‘I don't know,’ said Spike incredulously, ‘Symbols. Tribal-like.’

‘This guy with the visions,’ said Angel very slowly, ‘Did he have a name?’

‘Called himself Doyle,’ said Spike.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Edinburgh, Scotland_ **

‘There's no mistake, something has to be done and done quickly,’ said Giles seriously.

‘I know I'm essentially the guy who carries the bags around here but I really don't think it was that big of a deal,’ said Andrew, ‘When you get down to it, it's just nothing more than youthful high spirits. In _Ultimate Spider-Man #35 Peter –_ Sorry,’ he said, quickly stopping himself before he got on a roll about the merits of the Venom arc. ‘I'm just saying,’ he continued, ‘I don't think we should be _too_ hard on her, that's all.’

‘She pulled a knife on one of the other girls,’ responded Giles sternly.

‘Which one of us _hasn't_ ,’ Andrew defended, holding out his hands. Faith smirked slightly.

‘Blondie does have a point there,’ she said wryly. Wood barely concealed a snort behind a fake cough.

Giles, Faith, Andrew and Wood were all discussing on what the best course of action regarding the disciplining of one of the newer Slayers, Emma. She had been in a dispute with one of the other girls, Hero, about the War on Terror. Emma, who had a brother fighting in the Middle East felt very strongly about it and apparently pulled a knife on the other girl when she said he was stupid for enlisting.

‘How about this?’ offered Andrew, ‘I could talk to her, be a sympathetic ear and just see where she's at. If it's too bad, I let you deal with it.’

‘Listen,’ said Giles understandingly, ‘I know you mean well, Xander but what you…’ The room fell silent as everyone heard Giles slip the name. With great effort, he quickly gained control of his face and began again before stopping. ‘Sure,’ he finally said wearily, ‘Do that. Meeting adjourned.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart building, CEO's office_ **

Eve wiggled uncomfortably on her chair as all members of the ‘Fang Gang’ (Xander included) glared at her with unrestrained hostility. ‘We've got a problem, Eve,’ said Angel pleasantly. Despite the rather agreeable tone, his eyes betrayed the fire in his never beating heart.

‘Damn right, you do,’ she retorted, ‘When I tell the Partners you assaulted me—’ Angel quickly cut her protests off.

‘A couple weeks ago,’ he interrupted, ‘A man approached Spike, told him that the powers that be have some missions for him. Spike, brain trust that he is, went along with it.’ Spike responded with an insulted sounding, ‘ _Hey!_ ’

‘Ah sorry to interrupt,’ said Xander, ‘But I'm kind of lost and in the dark here. Who's she?’ he asked, jerking his head in Eve's direction.

‘Here are the cliff notes,’ said Gunn quickly, ‘She is the liaison to the senior powers and she put a parasite on Angel that nearly killed him.’

‘Not this again,’ said Eve, rolling her eyes and rising from her chair. Cordelia stood right in front of her.

‘Get out of that chair and I will feed you those Manolo Blahniks,’ she said coldly, ‘Which are _stunning_ by the way.’ Eve quickly sat down.

‘Seems to me like you and this guy are working together,’ said Angel.

‘Look,’ she said urgently, ‘I don't know what you're talking about. But you can't keep me here. I have to leave.’

‘But the thing that really, really pisses me off,’ he snarled, ‘Is that this guy seems to be going by the name of Doyle.’

‘Doesn't ring a bell,’ she smugly responded.

‘It does to _me_ ,’ Cordelia stated resolutely before raising her voice several octaves, causing Eve to flinch, ‘IT RINGS A BIG FREAKING GONG! And I wanna know who has the _nerve_ to use that name.’

‘I'm gonna give you _one_ chance to tell me where he is,’ Angel stated.

‘Look,’ said Eve, ‘Look, I don't know what—’ Suddenly, Harmony interrupted her by coming in through the doorway.

‘Excuse me, Boss?’ she asked before being cut off.

‘Not _now,_ Harmony,’ he answered irritably. Harmony noticed Xander in the room.

‘Hi, Xander,’ she said brightly, before remembering that they were supposed to fighting, ‘Not that I care,’ she said haughtily. Xander facepalmed and Cordelia raised an eyebrow. _Seriously? What the Hell is going on?_ Harmony continued, ‘Do I get the afternoon off, too?’ she asked.

‘What are you taking about?’ he demanded.

‘Everybody's gone,’ she explained, ‘The whole building cleared out a few minutes ago.’ Eve suddenly found the carpet to be _extremely_ exciting.

‘What's going on, Eve?’ Angel asked ferociously.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Edinburgh, Scotland_ **

‘G-Man, are you okay?’ asked Faith once the others departed. He didn't respond. ‘You in there?’ she asked. He looked up.

‘What?’ he asked distractedly.

‘Are you okay?’ she repeated. He was tempted to lie.

‘I've been better,’ he admitted finally, ‘I haven't been sleeping well.’

‘I've been there,’ she said. The memories of Lester Worth often woke her in a cold sweat. That guilt was _never_ going to go away.

‘How do you think Andrew is holding up?’ he asked.

‘He'll live,’ she responded, ‘He's like a weed, you can't keep him down.’ Giles chuckled slightly at her assessment of the newest Watcher in training. ‘Can I be honest with you?’ she asked after several minutes of silence.

‘Always.’

‘I think you should take some time off,’ she said, ‘Not permanently,’ she quickly added when he began to protest, ‘Just some time to work out any issues you still have. After all, you're not any good to the girls if you aren't at your best.’

‘I'll look in to it,’ he said looking ahead at the map of the world, his eyes falling to California. Sunnydale had never been large enough to merit placement on a world map but he gazed at where it used to be. His eyes then drifted slightly north to Los Angeles where Andrew had left Angel and co. little less than a month ago.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart building, CEO's office_ **

Gunn strode back into the office, clearly not pleased with what he had learned. ‘I checked the server,’ he said, answering Angel's unasked question, ‘A message went out. Code 7, right before the building emptied.’

‘What's a Code 7, Eve?’ he asked, clearly controlling the desire to cave in her head with a leg from his desk.

‘I don't know,’ she said, looking seriously worried for the first time during the ‘interview’ with the CEO. ‘Seriously,’ she desperately added. Cordelia rolled her eyes again. _I seem to be doing that a lot today._

‘OK, this is getting us nowhere,’ she said bluntly, ‘Angel, torture her.’ Both Angel and Eve said, ‘ _What!?_ ’ at the same time, his more confused and her more panicky.

‘You heard me,’ she said calmly, ‘Building clearing out means we don't have a lot of time. Have at it.’

‘I can't just... torture her,’ he responded awkwardly. Fred nodded in agreement.

‘He's right, Cordy,’ she said, ‘If we sink to their level—’ Anything else she had planned to say was cut off by Harmony tackling, shoving her into Angel's desk with a primal yell of surprising ferocity. She then proceeded to grab the unfortunate girl and start repeatedly slamming her face into desk.

‘Harmony!’ Angel quickly barked before stopping. Was he okay with this?

‘Is this okay?’ she asked, mirroring his thoughts, ‘I mean, I am evil, _technically_. I don't mind torturing for the team.’ Angel shrugged.

‘Yeah, okay,’ he said nonchalantly. She slammed Eve's head into the desk a final time before punching her in the face.

‘ _Come… On… You… Hussy,_ ’ she said in between punches, ‘ _Spill it!_ ’ Eve had clearly had enough.

‘Okay, okay,’ she said painfully, ‘It's a failsafe. They built a failsafe –’ Anything else she may have said was cut off by Harmony's continued attack.

‘Honey,’ Xander deadpanned before walking over and hugging her from behind, ‘She's talking now. No more hitting.’

‘I _never_ get to do what I want,’ she sulked.

‘I know,’ he said pseudo-seriously, ‘We're all _very_ proud of you but we need her to answer our questions now if we don't like the answers, you can go back to hitting her.’ She brightened up considerably at that statement. Spike's eyebrows twitched just slightly at tableau between the two.

‘Look,’ said Eve, interrupting his thoughts, ‘The Senior Partners were never certain they could keep you under their thumb, so they created a fail-safe. Housed it in the sub-levels of the building.’

‘What kind of failsafe?’ Fred asked intently.

‘I don't know what it is,’ she said honestly, ‘But it's huge and alive... and specifically designed to destroy you.’ Wesley cocked his head slightly at the revelation. It made sense, in fact, he was surprised he hadn't predicted the possibility himself. When this was all over, he decided, he was going to sit down with Xander and Fred and work out a series of hypothetical scenarios the Partners might have prepared for them. Just to be on the safe side.

‘How can I stop it?’ Angel asked.

‘The only way to shut it down is in the chamber itself,’ she said.

‘Well, if that's true,’ said Fred, ‘Then who activated it in the first place?’

‘It had to have to have been someone else,’ Xander offered, ‘I mean she was here with us when the building was evacuated.’

‘Someone with the ability to slip past Wolfram & Hart security systems,’ mused Wesley thoughtfully.

‘Like our magically tattooed ‘Doyle’,’ Lorne noted sourly.

‘Spike,’ said Angel, turning to the younger vampire, ‘I don't wanna go in blind. Anything else you know about this guy?’ Spike shrugged.

‘Not much,’ he said, ‘Average size. Dressed like an urban cowboy. Got his hand chopped off once.’

Cordelia, Wesley, Lorne and Angel all came to the same conclusion at the same time.

‘His hand?’ asked Cordelia.

‘He's back,’ Wesley grimly stated.

‘Lindsey.’ Angel spat out the word like a curse. Fred and Xander were in the dark.

‘Who?’ she asked.

‘Yeah,’ he affirmed, ‘Whose ‘Lindsey’ when he's at home?’ Angel promptly ignored the two of them.

‘Lock the building down,’ he said to Wesley, ‘Make sure he can't get out. Don't trust security systems. He won't show up because of those tattoos of his.’ Wesley nodded.

‘There could be a way to fix that,’ he said before turning to the group as a whole, ‘I'll need some help,’ he added.

‘My dance card's free,’ shrugged Lorne.

‘Sorry to sound like a broken record,’ said Xander, not sounding very sorry, ‘But who is Lindsey?’

‘A lawyer,’ answered Cordelia, giving the cliff notes summary, ‘Wolfram & Hart's former golden boy, till he ran off to go find himself.’

‘Yeah, he should've stayed lost,’ growled Angel before turning to his blonde secretary, ‘Harmony, guard Eve. She moves, eat her.’ Harmony grinned at their prisoner like a child at Christmas.

‘Really?’ she asked, ‘Thanks.’ She hungrily looked at Eve like one might look at a prime slice of steak. Fred continued to look concerned.

‘Angel, you're not going down there alone,’ she stated resolutely.

‘The fail-safe's meant for me. I'm not gonna risk anybody I care about,’ he responded, just as sure as her.

‘I'll go,’ Spike offered.

‘Okay,’ Angel answered a nanosecond later before turning to Cordelia and Fred, ‘Be ready to evacuate. If this thing gets past me, get the hell out of the building.’

‘Past _us_ ,’ Cordelia corrected, grabbing a samurai sword from behind Angel's desk. Angel began to protest.

‘No, no. Cordy –’

‘Yeah, save it, Angel,’ she said uncaringly, ‘You can order me around all you want, but I know my rights and I wanna see a lawyer.’

‘I'll come as well,’ said Xander, grabbing a bastard sword and a hunting knife, ‘I'm not gonna be any good up here so I might as well.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Basement level of Wolfram & Hart_ **

‘So I was right,’ said Cordelia as the descended the stairs.

‘About what?’ asked Spike casually, somehow making the mere act of walking look awesome.

‘About this knucklehead and Harmony,’ she said, nodding in Xander's direction. He groaned in exasperation.

‘Are we really going to do this _now_?’ he asked irritably.

‘Well we can't do it after we've been horribly killed,’ snarked Angel.

‘ _Et tu_ Angel?’ he asked, mock despairingly, ‘Since when do you care about my comings and goings? Whoa, really, _really_ bad choice of words. Since when do you care about my personal life.’

‘It must be your winning personality, Harris,’ he said mockingly. Xander looked ahead and saw a criss-cross of green laser beams covering the room ahead.

‘Oh yay,’ he said, ‘Lasers, looks like it's back to work.’

‘What d'you suppose they do?’ Spike enquired.

‘Let's find out,’ said Angel, throwing all caution to the winds and striding into the intangible net of green light. An alarm was triggered by his action and to their sides, the walls opened up to reveal dozens of zombies slowly marching towards the quartet. ‘Zombies, oh swell.’ said Angel with the voice of a man who was no longer surprised by the difficulties that occurred to him on a regular day to day basis. ‘We don't have time for this,’ he said before yelling in frustration.

‘Go on,’ said Spike quickly, ‘I'll hold 'em back.’

‘I'll stay too,’ offered Xander, unsheathing his bastard sword, ‘We'll buy you as much time as we can.’ Angel nodded and he and Cordelia rushed to the other side of the room.

‘Come on lads,’ Spike sneered contemptuously, ‘No need to be gentle. We're all dead man here. _Most_ of us anyway,’ he added, throwing a dark glance at Xander.

‘Eh,’ he shrugged, ‘I'm half there anyway.’

The pair charged into the throng of undead and proceed to hack and slash and punch and kick anything brainless enough to challenge them.

**~o~O~o~**

Lindsey glanced fondly at the now rising tank. Any second, its occupant would emerge and the vampire with a soul, the Champion of the Powers That Be would finally die. ‘Goodbye, Angel,’ he said victoriously.

‘Hello, Lindsey,’ said a voice from behind. He turned around and, lo and behold, the man of the hour was standing there, ready to kill. The former lawyer grinned ferociously.

‘And the hero arrives right on schedule,’ he sneered before glancing at Cordelia, standing at the champion's side, ‘And with a date,’ he added, comically bowing to her in a mockery of a gentleman greeting a lady.

‘Yeah,’ she said with all the warmth of an iceberg, ‘Dinner and a show… And you're both.’ Angel slowly yet surely began to walk towards the false prophet.

‘Is this the part where I get all weak in the knees?’ he mocked, ‘Promise I'll never do it again?’

‘It's a little late for that, _Doyle_ ,’ he responded ominously. Lindsey cheerfully shook his head.

‘There's always time for redemption. Isn't that your whole thing?’ he asked.

‘You had your chance,’ said Angel, almost nose to nose with his enemy, ‘ I guess some people, they just never change.’ He then went to backhand him but, to everyone's astonishment, Lindsey caught the hand with lightning fast reflexes before punching him in the gut and hurling him across the room. Angel crashed into the wall and lay stunned.

‘Actually, I did,’ he said victoriously. Angel tried to rise but failed, falling again to the ground. ‘You just gonna lay there and bleed?’ he crowed. Angel, with determination, rose to his feet.

‘Cordy, get out of here,’ he ordered.

‘No,’ said Lindsey , pointing at the way they came in, the door closed, moved by an invisible hand, ‘Hang out,’ he offered, ‘Won't take long,’ He pulled out a small but deadly looking pocket knife. In response, Cordelia threw Angel her samurai sword. Angel pointed the blade at his opponent. Lindsey grinned awkwardly before looking down at his much smaller weapon, the Freudian imagery not lost on him. ‘Oh. Well,’ he shrugged, ‘It's not the size that matters, big guy.’ With a flourish, the small pocket knife morphed into a massive broad sword. ‘It's how you use it,’ he finished.

‘Shut it down,’ Angel commanded.

‘What?’ Lindsey asked incredulously, ‘You think I'm gonna shut it down just cause you asked?’

‘Not talking to you,’ Angel replied.

‘Oh right,’ said Cordelia, comprehension dawning in her eyes, ‘On it.’ She rushed up the stairs to the panel that controlled the tank.

‘So go and get yourself a little mojo?’ asked Angel, not caring if he got an answer, ‘You should never have come back, Lindsey.’

‘What can I say?’ he replied, ‘Missed you.’ Angel swung his sword at his head and the duel commenced. Ignoring the spectacle below, Cordelia examined the control panel.

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘Let's try the blue one.’ She tried the blue one and was promptly electrocuted. She jerked her hand back. ‘ _Ow!_ Okay, _not_ the blue one.’

Lindsey pinned Angel to the wall but Angel head butted him, forcing him back. Lindsey responded by punching him under the chin before back flipping onto the tank. ‘Little something I picked up in Nepal,’ he grinned, ‘You like it?’

‘They sell that crap at the airport,’ Angel snarled, also effortlessly leaping onto to tank. The two resumed their duel, ignoring the fact that the tank was continuing to rise. Lindsey kicked him in the knee, causing him to scream and recoil. Lindsey cackled, the mocking sound filling the chamber, echoing off the walls.

‘You know, all my carefully laid out plans, my designs, when you get right down to it, that was pretty sweet, too, huh?’ he asked casually, ‘Reason enough for me to come back. You, me... fight to the death...’ He pointed his sword at his foe, ‘Yours,’ he added.

‘I've seen your tough act before, squirt. First time we ever met, you put on a show,’ growled Angel, continuing the fight, ‘Huffing and puffing, telling me I couldn't lay a hand on your scumbag client.’

‘So you kicked him out a window,’ Lindsey reminisced.

‘Good times,’ said Angel, sharing the sentiment.

‘It was a defining moment,’ agreed Lindsey. There was a rumbling sound as the tank started to shake under their feet. The vents around them exhaled copious amounts of steam, ‘Kind of like this one,’ he added. Cordelia glance over at the tank and could see something large swimming in its murky depths.

‘Oh, crap,’ she said, summing up the entire situation in two small words.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wesley's office, Wolfram & Hart_ **

Wesley was reading from a scroll as Gunn paced behind him and Fred gathered ingredients. Lorne was pacing in the background with a stick of smoking incense.

‘Woodbury lichen,’ he listed.

‘Check,’ responded Fred.

‘Where's our danbeetle skeleton?’ he asked.

‘Already in the bowl,’ Gunn answered, ‘Man, I should be down there. Got enough Betty Crockers. I should be throwing some hurt.’

‘Sprinkle the ingredients with the arterial blood of an unclean,’ he read aloud, before clarifying, ‘A demon.’ Lorne looked offended.

‘We're unclean? Like you're so April fresh—’ he began before realising the implications of Wesley's statement, ‘You sure that thing said arterial blood?’

‘Sorry,’ Wesley shrugged. Gunn pulled out a positively _lethal_ looking knife form his pocket.

‘Why don't they ever need the urine of an unclean? I've got plenty of unclean urine,’ complained the green hided demon before looking down, ‘Look. Uh... I think I'm making some right now.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Basement chamber, Wolfram & Hart_ **

Angel sword slashed across Lindsey's shirt, severing the buttons, causing it to billow open, revealing the intricate set of tattoos covering his torso. ‘That must have stung,’ mocked Angel. Lindsey smirked.

‘Worse than when you cut off my hand,’ he said, serious for a single instant before reverting to his mocking persona.’ He then deflected Angel's next blow before skewering him, right in the centre of his chest. Cordelia screamed in horror. Lindsey contemptuously kicked him.

‘ _Who is_ this!?’ he demanded, tearing off his ruined shirt, ‘Who? Is? THIS!? I came to fight the vampire with a soul. Guess you shouldn't have sold it, huh? Look at you, from champion to pathetic corporate puppet in just a few months. You used to have fire in your heart.’ He squatted down so he was eye level with Angel. ‘Now all you got in there is that big honkin' sword. How's that feel, champ?’ he sneered.

‘Could be worse...’ Angel painfully groaned, before tearing the sword out of his chest, ‘If it had been made out of wood, you dumbass.’ The pair now engaged in hand to hand combat, punches and kicks flying wild.

Cordelia glared at the stubborn control panel. ‘Now you are gonna give it up,’ she said with determination. The control panel rose and split revealing a large, yellow crystal inside. She yanked the translucent rock out and the system made a ‘powering down’ noise. ‘Like that was hard,’ she said, admiring the crystal. Lindsey saw Cordelia triumphantly holding the crystal and gave out a wordless screech of fury. Cordelia smirked at the enraged man as the tank slowly fell back into the ground. The fight seemed to have trained from the former Wolfram & Hart golden boy and barely seemed to fight back or even defend himself.

‘All those tattoos, all those new tricks you've learned...,’ said Angel, punching him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground ,’Just don't matter.’ Lindsey tried to stand. ‘Doesn't matter what you try.’ Angel punched him down. ‘Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become.’ Lindsey got to his knees, but Angel punched him in the face again. ‘Cause you know what?’ He grabbed Lindsey by the neck, holding him face-to-face. ‘I'm Angel,’ he declared triumphantly before throwing Lindsey across the room, slamming him into the wall. ‘I beat the bad guys.’

Cordelia rushed to his side.

‘You okay?’ she asked, the love and concern clear for the entire world to see.

‘I've been worse,’ he replied, feeling as if a heavy weight had lifted from his heart. Lindsey staggered to his feet.

‘So what now, huh?’ he sneered, ‘Think you got it in you to kill me?’ Angel looked him squarely in the eye.

‘I really don't think I have to.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wesley's office, Wolfram & Hart_ **

‘ _Fabula mundi, sanguis incesti, vincula solve, invisa revela_ ,’ he intoned, the room awash with a crimson glow. He grinned widely. ‘I think it's working.’

Fred looked at him, her eyes glowing with feelings of pride, awe and… _lust?_ He met her gaze evenly and continued to chant.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Basement chamber, Wolfram & Hart_ **

Lindsey groaned as the tattoos peeled off his skin and faded away into nothingness. ‘Damn,’ he cursed. A flickering whirlpool of light appeared above him.

‘I think the Senior Partners would like a word,’ said Angel coolly.

‘You don't think they're angry, do you?’ he asked, chuckling nervously. The mystical typhoon swallowed him and disappeared.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Lobby of Wolfram & Hart_ **

A pouting Eve was firmly escorted onto the elevator with the whole gang standing behind her to make sure that this time she left for good. ‘It's really been a pleasure,’ said Cordelia, ‘Let's never keep in touch.’

‘It's a new game, Eve. If I were you, I'd start thinking strategy,’ said Angel.

‘And here I am thinking revenge,’ she retorted.

‘And what do you imagine the Senior Partners are thinking?’ Angel got in before the doors closed.

‘Well, I'm thinking seabreeze, compadres. I gave up a lot of blood for this gig,’ said Lorne randomly.

‘And I didn't get any,’ Harmony complained, ‘I kept begging Eve to run, but...’

‘There, there, honey,’ said Xander putting his arms around her. ‘There's always next time.’

‘Well, I've been prancing around thinking I had a destiny,’ said Spike bitterly, ‘Love to drown my embarrassment in a few pints.’ Fred suddenly grinned.

‘We should all go get a drink,’ she said excitedly, ‘We haven't done that in...ever.’

‘I'm in,’ said Gunn.

‘Yeah,’ agreed Wesley. He turned to Angel expectantly.

‘A drink sounds good,’ he said finally, ‘I'll go get my coat.’ The elevator bell pinged as he walked towards his office. The gang minus him and Cordelia piled in.

‘You guys go ahead. We'll catch up,’ she said before turning to Wesley, smiling admiringly, ‘Oh, and Wesley? You still work the best mojo in town.’ She turned to Xander. ‘The new badass thing really works for you,’ she said. The two men smiled at their mutual former flame. Lorne incredulously snorted.

‘I bleed from the neck, they gets the props?’ he demanded before the elevator doors closed, finally blocking the smiling vibrant woman from sight.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Fifty minutes later._ **

‘So anyway,’ Spike recounted, ‘Here we were, outnumbered, surrounded, you didn't have to tell me we were screwed and Harris decides to go all _Lord of the Rings_ on their asses. I think he might have actually been screaming war cries.’

‘I can pull it off,’ defended Xander, while Harmony kissed him where his shoulder met his neck, right on top of his pulse, ‘And those zombies never saw it coming.’

‘ _No-one_ could see it coming,’ retorted Spike, ‘Who could? You looked like a prat all flailing around like that.’

‘I'm sure he looked positively heroic,’ said Lorne, coming to his friend's aid. ‘I'm sure – Angel, what took you so long.’ The gang looked up to see their leader dejectedly walk towards their booth.

It was Xander who noticed it first.

‘Where's Cordelia?’ he asked. Angel looked at them with a complete loss for words . He opened his mouth yet no sound came out. After another moment's hesitation he said three words. Fred and Harmony cried, Lorne sighed mournfully, Wesley and Gunn looked on dumfounded and Xander's hand squeezed tightly around his glass until it shattered. He ignored the shards of glass that were digging into his palm, he didn't even notice it. Because Angel had found the three worst words in all the Earth's many languages and Xander's heart shattered with the final loss.

‘Cordelia’s dead.’


	6. Broken Smile Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander is seriously injured and, while recovering, makes a decision about him and Harmony.  
> Spike and Angel finally have it out once and for all... unfortunately, Spike is a little shorter than usual.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a mess. Her hair looked like two armies of enraged squirrels had fought a massive nuclear war in it and her throat hurt. Yes, she couldn't think of a decent simile for the second complaint.

Hangovers tend to do that to you.

Now Buffy wasn't normally one to drink in excess (she would usually leave that sort of thing to Faith) but, on the rare occasions when she did, she didn't hold back.

_THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!_

Dawn's footsteps rocked the very Earth. ‘Dawn,’ she croaked, ‘Stop walking.’

‘How are we feeling this morning?’ asked Dawn, cheerfully skipping into the room, the vibrations tearing into the Slayer's brain like rusty chainsaws.

‘Like I'm going to kill you when I get out of here,’ she mumbled.

‘How can you be like this on such a beautiful day?’ she asked innocently, throwing open the curtains. Buffy shrank back from the light, like a vampire.

‘Don't do this, Dawn. Be gentle with – _ARRGGGHH!!!_ ’ Buffy flinched, the bright, burning light stinging her eyes.

‘Your own fault,’ her little sister responded, ‘What on Earth possessed you to drink all that?’

‘I don't know,’ she responded, ‘It seemed like such a good idea at the time.’

Wood and Faith had dragged her and Giles out into town the previous night saying that they had been inside for too long and that the change of pace would do them some good.

‘If you look at anything hard enough,’ she continued while looking for some aspirin, ‘You'll find that _everything_ is Faith's fault.’

‘You're logic astounds me,’ said Dawn, sarcastically bowing, ‘What more can you teach me, O great and mighty master?’

‘If you get me some water,’ she begged, ‘I'll be your slave for a month.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘ _She was incredible. She died saving my life.’_

‘ _That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing.’_

‘ _Cordelia’s dead’_

_The shards now stained red with his blood dig into his hand. He can't feel it. He can't feel anything. He is numb with shock, with pain, with despair._

This is Alexander Harris. Some might call him cocky, others would say he's handsome, the less charitable would refer to him as a problem child while others would call him reckless. He is all of these things and none of these things. These things are just part of his mask, the mask he has worn since he was a little boy crying in the basement wondering why his father wasn't like other parents. He has worn the mask for so long that sometimes he honestly doesn’t know what he would look like without it. The word that describes the real Alexander Harris is much more simple and tragic than any of the others.

Broken.

Such a small word, only six letter and yet that is the best word – the only word that can accurately describe him.

How could he not be? He killed his best friend at only sixteen old, endured the horrors only a father can inflict, he watched everyone around him soar to impossible heights while he descended into his parents' basement and he let his fear destroy his only single chance to be happy. Then, after spending an entire year trying to make up for that terrible mistake, the love of his life was struck down and the worst part was that he wasn't there.

And now he has learned that a cherished friend from a more innocent time is also dead.

He is broken.

And it's a miracle that it took this long.

**~o~O~o~**

It was the screaming that woke her. Harmony's eyes instantly opened, her vampire physiology priming her to kill but she soon realised that she was not in any immediate physical danger.

Xander was screaming and thrashing in his sleep. Sometimes he screamed out the names of people he used to know, sometimes he begged his father not to hurt him but most of the time it was just the sound unintelligible pain. She quickly grabbed him by the shoulders.

‘Xander,’ she called out urgently, ‘Wake up, wake up.’ He stopped screaming. Though his eyes were still squeezed tightly shut she could tell he was awake by the difference in his breathing. Slowly, his eyelids slid open, revealing one red eye and one gaping socket. It was hard to tell which one looked worse. She didn't say anything, she just pulled him into her, resting his head on her shoulder.

He clung tightly to her like a drowning man might cling to a life line and he cried, entirely unashamed. As they rocked back and forward he had a moment of perfect clarity. He knew she didn't have a soul, he knew she was evil, he knew she could never love him, he knew that at best, what they had was only a temporary thing but, in that moment, he decided that he simply didn't care. He'd take the illusion of love over reality any day.

After all, reality was yet to make a better offer.

**~o~O~o~**

Fred was silent as she applied fresh bandages to the cuts in Xander's hand. He had been stabbed through the hand by a vampire four days before. He was silent as he watched her work. Suddenly she stopped and gently turned his hand over so that his palm was facing downwards. His knuckles were covered with abrasions. Bite marks, some looked quite old. And they were not the bites of a vampire.

‘How long have you had trouble sleeping?’ she asked.

‘Forever,’ he answered nonchalantly.

‘But it's been worse recently,’ she pressed, now continuing to apply the bandage.

‘Okay,’ he answered, his voice brittle, ‘Sure, it's been worse for a few months. What of it?’

‘I've been watching you for the past few weeks,’ she said, ‘And, all things considered, you've been doing great here but I'm concerned about your private life.’

‘Why do you care?’ he asked. She looked him in the eye.

‘That's unfair,’ she said seriously, ‘I like to we're friends and I care about my friends.’ He said nothing in response. ‘Look,’ she continued, ‘It's obvious it is connected with Cordy, I get that, but can I ask why?’ He looked up in surprise.

‘What do you mean by 'why'?’ he demanded, ‘She was a friend and she died.’

‘Yes she _was_ a friend,’ she agreed, putting a slight emphasis on the 'was'. ‘But you hadn't seen her in years, your only contact was through the phone and the occasional e-mail, I think that there is more going on.’

‘I needed a win,’ he said emotionlessly, ‘I wanted to beat death, I wanted it to… stop. I've lost a lot of people over the past few years, hell, I even staked what used to be my best friend and I am so tired of losing. So, when I heard she was in a coma, my first thought was ‘here we go again, there goes another one.’ So can you imagine my surprise when she woke up just _seconds_ after I left her room? I thought that maybe, just maybe after all those deaths, the universe was gonna throw me this one. Not only that, I really screwed her over when we were in Sunnydale, just like I screwed things up with Anya and… well everyone else in my life. I still haven't contacted them. I thought I might be able to make up for a past mistake.’

‘In a romantic sense?’ she asked.

‘Of course not,’ he said, ‘High school romances aren't meant to last. I just thought that I had it in me to be a better friend and person.’ He looked down at his hands. ‘I sh-shouldn't feel like this. I mean Angel was the one who liked her that way and look at him. He's hurting but he deals with it on top of the usual pile of angst he carries around.’

‘He has had centuries of practice,’ she pointed out. He chuckled darkly at that.

‘He sure does.’

‘You know,’ she began carefully, ‘Depression is real thing. It's nothing to be ashamed –’ That was all she got out before he interrupted her.

‘I don't think we have anything else to say to each other, Doctor,’ he said harshly before getting up and making a beeline for the exit.

‘You do know I just want to help, right?’ she asked him. He paused for a moment.

‘Yeah, I know,’ he said, ‘I just don't think even you can help.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: The roads of Los Angeles (Leading to the SR1)_ **

**_2am in the morning_ **

Xander swerved at the last second, allowing him and his Kawasaki Ninja to avoid the hail of bullets racing in his general direction. The thing about movie chase scenes is that most of the protagonists somehow have the magical ability to accurately fire an automatic weapon from the back of a motorcycle.

Real life tends to be more difficult.

He increased the speed as he bobbed through traffic cursing under his breath as he did so. It was supposed to be a simple job, he and Wesley had been instructed to inform a mixed gang of humans and demons that their occult/gang related practices would no longer be tolerated and that, if they failed to comply, the full might of Wolfram & Hart would be thrown at them. Unfortunately, they replied by seizing hostages and fleeing into the night. Wesley had called in for back up but Xander immediately gave chase, knowing that they would get away if he lost sight of them before reinforcements could arrive.

The gang travelled with three pick-up trucks and two motorcycles.

The police had already been politely informed to stay the hell out of the way.

Back at the office, Fred was glancing at her computer screen, a street map of Los Angeles displayed prominently. She was able to track the gang members by tracking the LoJack in Xander's bike. If he could stay with them for about three more minutes, Wolfram & Hart reinforcements would be there to assist. Behind her, her team was working on possible destinations based on their movements, a contingency plan for if Xander lost them.

Looking at the screen, she could see them attempting to flee the city by taking the SR1. She frowned, this was really, _really_ stupid. What on Earth did they think they could accomplish? Sure they had hostages, but now it really didn't matter if Xander could keep up with them or not. Helicopters would be there shortly and they would be caught. What was their plan, if they had one?

Xander gunned it, racing along the highway, noting the lack of traffic. If it hadn't been for the whole risk of death thing, he might have simply enjoyed racing down the empty highway. Suddenly, to his shock, the whole gang suddenly did a 180 and were now facing him, perfectly still. _What the Hell?_ He cautiously slowed to a stop, slightly under a hundred metres from them. One the bikers levelled his gun at him and Xander's eye widened as he realised that hitting a target without moving was infinitely easier, even at that distance. He hurled himself to the ground, dragging the bike with him. He made himself as flat as he could, using the bike as cover. Moments later the shots started. Some were too short, others were to long but a few managed to hit the bike. One actually passed through its metal framework and hit him in the gut. He couldn't scream, it was all he could do to let out a weak grunt of pain. With a trembling hand, he reached for his phone and somehow managed to his the second speed dial. After a single ring, Fred picked up.

‘What's happening?’ she asked quickly, ‘It says you've stopped. Did you lose them?’ She only heard silence. No, that wasn't true, she could hear faint breathing. Then she heard a hail of what could only be gunfire. ‘Xander?’ she called out urgently.

‘Fred,’ responded a weak voice, ‘I'm pinned down, they're still…. I've been shot.’

‘Hang on, Xander,’ she said, ‘They'll be there in thirty seconds.’ She then heard a loud bang, louder than the gunfire and then the tone that sounds when a call is disconnected.

**~o~O~o~**

‘ _She was incredible. She died saving my life.’_

‘ _That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing.’_

‘ _Cordelia’s dead’_

_I don't want to keep re-living this._

**~o~O~o~**

**_One hour later_ **

‘What the Hell happened?’ demanded Angel, pacing agitatedly.

‘We're still not sure,’ said Wesley, the picture of calm, ‘As far as we can deduce, they used a short range teleport spell. It also had the side effect of an Electro Magnetic Pulse, which explains why Fred lost the call.’

‘How did they get that level of magic?’ he asked, ‘And _why_ did they even use it? You were just there to give them a warning. And how did a group with that fly under the radar?’

‘My people are looking into it,’ relied Wesley serenely. To an observer who didn't know him, Wesley's attitude might have been seen as harsh. His protégé was hospitalised with a gun wound and the perpetrators had evaded capture and he might as well have been chatting about the weather for all the emotion he was displaying. However, to an observer who _did_ know him, they would know that if the former watcher was pressed hard enough, he would move past the white hot fury and move into the more dangerous cold rage. The same rage that allowed him to shoot what he believed to be his father, the same rage that led him into Lilah's embrace, the same rage that possessed him to imprison and torture a woman for three months after Angel disappeared.

‘Is he alright?’ asked Fred, rushing up to them, ignoring the ‘Do not run in the hall’ signs.

‘He's fine,’ said Angel, ‘The Doctor said he's critical but stable. We should be able to see him soon.’

‘Why on Earth was he chasing them?’ asked Angel of no-one in particular.

‘We were tracking him through his LoJack,’ explained Fred, ‘If he could keep up with them, we could track them and reinforcements could have stopped them.’

‘So he wasn't doing anything stupid then?’ Wesley asked.

‘Of course not,’ she responded before sitting down on the ground, leaning against the wall.

‘Sorry,’ he said contritely, ‘I don't know if you've noticed but he has been acting… I don't know, erratic lately.’ The entrance doors violently burst open revealing a distraught looking Harmony.

‘Where is he?’ she demanded.

**~o~O~o~**

Xander's vision was a mess. _More_ of a mess than usual. He could see an outline sitting across from him. His vision cleared and he could see a familiar looking red haired person gazing at him.

‘Willow?’ he asked in confusion.

‘Eh, I guess,’ she replied nonchalantly, ‘It's really up to you who I am.’ She then smiled that small smile only Willow could do and then gave him the biggest hug ever. It was a credit to whatever it was in his system that it didn't hurt. ‘Whatever I am, tt's good to see you again.’ Xander got up and looked around at his surroundings. Unlike the popular depiction in fiction, hospital rooms are definitely _not_ sterile. They're perpetually clean but at the same time there is always something distinctly dirty about them. Maybe it's the knowledge that someone probably died in it, maybe it's the smell of disinfect having something to do with it. ‘Hey,’ she said suddenly, putting a stethoscope in her ears, ‘Remember all those times we used to play doctors and nurses?’

‘Yeah,’ he said grinning at the childish memory of Willow wearing a pillow case that she had turned into scrubs, seriously wrapping bandages around him to cure his diabetes.

‘Well this won't do at all,’ said Giles, examining his x-ray, ‘It appears that your brain is completely see through. Although, that might actually go far in explaining a few things.’

‘You're here as well?’ asked Xander.

‘Well,’ said Buffy, idly flicking through the channels on the television, ‘Given the amount of stuff in your system, it's a miracle we're not dressed as clowns hopping around on pogo-sticks.’

‘So why are you here?’ he asked them.

‘I don't know,’ said Anya, her torso hanging open, bisected by a nasty looking sword cut, ‘Why _are_ we here?’ she asked him, ‘This is, after all, _your_ hallucination.’ Buffy squealed in childish delight.

‘Smile Time,’ she exclaimed happily, ‘I used to watch this with Dawn when she was younger.’

‘Look what I can do,’ said Anya, gruesomely splitting herself apart further. He looked on in horrified fascination.

‘Please stop that,’ said Xander, ‘It's _very_ distracting. Okay guys,’ he said to them all, ‘I'm happy that you took the time out of your busy lives to come her but can you please go? Like sort of nowish?’ They looked at him in shock.

‘But we're your _friends_ ,’ said Willow tearfully.

‘No you're not,’ he said harshly, ‘You're nothing more than some remnants of nostalgia mixed with a _very_ intense drug trip and if I wanted to relive the past I'd… I would _never_ want to relive the past so it's a moot point.’

‘What about all the good times we had?’ Buffy asked, looking like a child who discovered that Santa wasn't real.

‘WHAT GOOD TIMES!?’ he exploded, ‘The time where I had super healing and strength so I wasn't a total liability? Oh wait, that was you,’ he pointed at her, ‘Or the time where the father figure I so desperately wanted was there for support, oh wait,’ he said, again pointing her, ‘ _You_ got that. What about the time where I got magical powers and was treated like an actual member of the team, oh wait a sec,’ he said, this time looking at Willow, ‘That was actually one of yours. Do you want to know what my ‘good times’ were? It was this,’ he pointed at his ruined eye, ‘And that,’ he pointed at Anya, who was seeing how far apart she could stretch herself, ‘Maybe they were good times for you but they weren't that for me. And how could _any_ of you possibly understand that?’ he demanded, ‘You're all bullet proof. You lose someone, they come back. You die, you come back but spend months bitching about it. You turn evil and try to wipe us off the map, nah it's fine just don't do it again young lady. You just get up and _leave_ when some of us really needed you? Well, let's just pretend it never happened when you come back. You fall asleep while watching Oz? Well if you're me, you get your head bitten off by Mr. Reasonable Authority Figure over there,’ he jerked his head in Giles' direction. What happens if you do that and you're a blonde? Ah well, she works so hard, let her rest, isn't she FUCKING ADORABLE, WHY NOT WRAP A BLANKET AROUND HER!?’ He took a deep breath. ‘I know that the nostalgia you represent thinks I should go back but there is one thing I am now absolutely sure of, I'm part of a team. I have a life that I love and, even if right now is a bit of a dark time, I have never felt more needed.’ He paused for a second before looking at the ‘Willow figment’, ‘Well maybe with one exception.’

He gazed at his ‘guests’, his head swimming with passion, memory and morphine and he made a decision.

‘I've outgrown you, I'm letting you go.’

**~o~O~o~**

Spike paced back and forwards as far as the waiting room would allow him. It had surprised everyone when the bleached blonde showed up but no-one was brave enough to comment on it. Ever since their fight against the zombies in the bowels of Wolfram & Hart, there had seemed to be an understanding of sorts between them. They weren't friends, oh God forbid that, but ever since then they had been a lot less confrontational, Hell Spike didn't even seem to mind the whole Harmony situation. Clearly something had changed between the two.

_Some kind of silent signal went out and the zombies collapsed to the ground in a heap. Xander retrieved his knife from one of the now (thankfully) motionless corpses. He cleaned his blades on the rags one of them was wearing before sheathing his weapons._

WHAM!

_Spike had punched him in the face. Again._

‘ _Dear GOD!’ he screamed, ‘Why is it always the head with you people!? What the hell did I do this time?’_

‘ _Is Cordelia right?’ Spike demanded, ‘'Bout you and Harmony?’ Xander staggered to his feet and responded with an unexpected roundhouse kick that caught Spike in the gut. This time it was Spike's turn to keel over in pain._

‘ _Yeah, she's right,’ said Xander recklessly, ‘What of it? You miss her or something?’_

‘ _I don't give a toss about her,’ said Spike carelessly, ‘I care about what Anya's gonna think. Didn't you put that poor girl through enough already?’ Xander laughed derisively._

‘ _What the Hell are you –?’ he began before suddenly stopping. His angry, sarcastic expression quickly morphed into one of understanding. ‘Oh. You don't know.’_

‘ _Know what?’ Spike snarled, ready beat the two-timing bastard into the next century._

‘ _Spike,’ he said almost gently, ‘Anya died.’ Spike was dumbstruck. How could someone so… alive not be alive? She was too stubborn to die. How could she die?_

‘ _How?’ he asked completely at a loss for words, ‘Andrew said nothing about that.’_

‘ _He wouldn't,’ Xander replied, ‘She saved him. That's – That's how it happened.’ There pair was silent for a while_

‘ _Sorry,’ he said finally._

‘ _Please don't,’ Xander asked._

‘ _I'm serious,’ he said, ‘I liked her. She was… good,’ he finished somewhat lamely._

‘ _Yeah she was,’ Xander quietly agreed._

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Harmony kicking a chair across the room in frustration. ‘How much longer is this going to take!?’ she demanded in frustration. The hospital was an affiliate of Wolfram & Hart and took any many patients of the supernatural variety and the staff had been warned to not provoke any angry vampires that happened by.

‘He was shot Harmony,’ said Fred gently, ‘It's a complicated procedure.’

‘Then make them uncomplicate it,’ she said desperately before starting to sob. Fred hesitantly hugged the stricken vampire, unsure if that was appropriate or not. Harmony clearly did not have a problem with it and ( _really_ ) tightly held onto her. Something on her belt started beeping and she extracted herself from the younger girl and checked her pager.

‘Can you give me a second?’ she asked them all, ‘It's Knox, something came up.’ She walked over to the payphone and called him.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Why am I still here?’ asked Giles, ‘The others are gone but I'm not. Why?’

‘I don't know,’ replied Xander, ‘I'm doing my best to get rid of you but… Not really working.’

‘You have to be feeling something quite strong then,’ mused Giles, ‘What is it? Do I represent a father figure? No, not any more anyway. Is it resentment? Yes, resentment and anger. You feel betrayed because you thought I might be the father figure you so desperately wanted and I wasn't what you hoped for. Not my fault really. I can hardly be expected to be something I not just because you want it to be so.’

‘You were that for Buffy,’ Xander pointed out.

‘Of course,’ he sniffed, ‘I am her Watcher after all.’

‘And Willow?’ he demanded, ‘You were there for her when she needed it. And Dawn too, now that I think about it. Hell, you were even there for Spike right after he got chipped. You never did a _fraction_ of that for me. You didn't show up for my wedding, you weren't even there for Anya's funeral. I knew no-one else would show up but I genuinely thought you would. She _loved_ you and. You. Weren't. There.’

‘I had responsibilities,’ Giles defended quickly.

‘I'm sure they could have waited for one day,’ he spat, ‘But no, the great Rupert Giles had duties to attend and I was alone on the one day when I needed to… not be alone.’

‘Did you ever consider I might have had a good reason for not coming?’ the Watcher asked.

‘No,’ he said simply, ‘She died saving the world, whatever reason you had was nowhere near good enough.’

**~o~O~o~**

Fred came back to the group looking concerned. ‘Knox told me that there have been several reports of something strange happening to children in the area,’ she told them, ‘He said that there was one child here in paediatrics. I spoke to one of the nurses and he said he could show us if you want.’

‘I guess we're back on the clock,’ said Angel, he turned to Harmony, ‘Harmony, consider yourself on paid leave until he wakes up.’ She smiled at him gratefully.

‘Thanks, boss,’ she said sincerely.

‘Spike,’ he said, taking his compatriot out of earshot, ‘Could you keep an eye on her and let us know when he's in the clear?’

‘Sure thing,’ he replied, for once not putting up a fight.

**~o~O~o~**

‘It's right this way,’ said the nurse, escorting Angel and the others through the halls, ‘Strangest thing I've ever seen around here.’

It turned out that the nurse had not been exaggerating.

The child was sitting up in the bed, his whole body locked in position and his mouth formed a horrific, leering smile.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Twelve hours later_ **

**_Location: Hospital_ **

Xander groaned in pain as Harmony barrelled into him. ‘Ah, pain… Harmony, please,’ he managed to get out before she realised what she was doing and stopped.

‘Sorry,’ she squeaked, ‘It was just –.’

‘Never mind,’ he said, interrupting her with a kiss, ‘It's worth it.’ He groaned again. ‘Maybe not,’ he admitted weakly.

‘Can I do anything for you?’ she asked.

‘What happened to my bike?’ he asked with trepidation.

‘Oh, that thing?’ she replied carelessly, ‘That thing's a wreck.’ He winced at the news. Something else occurred to him.

‘How long have I been here?’ he croaked, his throat feeling like sandpaper.

‘Over a day,’ she answered, ‘It's just past three p.m. now.’

‘And you've been waiting here the whole time?’ he asked in quiet astonishment.

‘Yes,’ she said simply.

‘Thank you,’ he said with all the emotion he could manage.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart L.A. office_ **

Fred practically flew into Wesley's office, skidding to a halt in front of his desk. ‘Harmony called,’ she said excitedly, ‘He's awake and he's going to be okay.’

‘I'll get my coat,’ he said, quickly getting to his feet.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

‘What happened?’ he asked, ‘All I remember is a big bang and… well, I'm here.’ He didn't relish the thought of talking about his comatose conversation.

‘We're still not sure,’ she confessed, ‘They seem to have been a bigger deal than we thought. All we know is that they are still probably on the West Coast.’

‘Maybe we'll run into them again,’ he said speculatively, ‘And I can show them the same courtesy they showed me.’

‘No you _won't_ ,’ she said sternly, ‘You just were shot, you need rest and recuperation, not a vendetta.’

‘Harmony, it was just a thought,’ he said, allaying her fears.

‘I sure hope so,’ said a dry voice from the door, ‘I can't keep getting new assistants.’

‘Hey guys,’ said Xander happily. Wesley, Fred, Gunn, Spike and Angel ambled into the small room. Gunn tossed him a bag of grapes.

‘I hear you're supposed to do that,’ he snarked, finding a chair to sit in.

‘Lorne should be on the way,’ said Fred, sitting beside his bed.

‘How are you holding up?’ asked Wesley.

‘I've been worse,’ said Xander, ‘I least I didn't lose anything this time. It was worse when we fought against the first.’

‘Yeah,’ agreed Spike, ‘He'll be up and about in no time.’

‘I hate to do this,’ said Angel seriously, ‘But is there anything you can remember about what happened on the highway?’ Xander shook his head dejectedly.

‘I've been trying,’ he said, ‘But I was on the ground behind my bike, I couldn't see a thing. All I heard was a bang. Oh,’ he said, suddenly realising something, ‘What happened to the hostages?’ he asked.

‘We don't know,’ admitted Angel, his expression indicated that fact was difficult to swallow, ‘They were also taken with the teleportation spell.’ Xander's face fell.

‘Did we get anything at all?’ he begged, ‘Harmony said you think they're on the coast but is there _anything_ else?’ They were saved from answering him by Lorne's entrances.

‘X-Man, how are you?’ he asked.

‘Like I've been shot in the gut,’ he answered, ‘X-Man?’ he asked.

‘Ahh, I don't know,’ said Lorne, ‘Just trying it out to see if it fits.’

‘It really doesn’t. So what's the case?’ asked Xander, ‘And don't tell me there isn't one, because there is. A case, that is.’ Fred sighed.

‘This,’ she said, handing him a photograph, ‘Is one of several cases that have occurred in children from four to eight years of age.’ He examined the creepy looking child.

‘Spooky,’ he said, ‘Maybe it's the Joker.’ She scoffed. ‘What?’ he asked.

‘Nothing,’ she said, ‘It's just Knox said the same thing.’

‘Your assistant?’ he asked, ‘Good to know. So any ideas on what's causing the whole enfant terrible thing?’

‘We're still working on it,’ she said, ‘We don't even know if it's magic yet, it could be a new strain of plague for all we know.’ At that moment, an alarm went off on Angel's watch.

‘Shoot,’ he exclaimed, hitting the snooze button, ‘It's a full moon tonight.’

‘So?’ asked Xander, confused by the normally unflappable vampire's extreme agitation.

‘So,’ said Fred, her eyes twinkling with mirth, ‘Nina has to come over.’

‘Who's Nina,’ he asked, ‘His girlfriend or something?’ There was a short silence. ‘She _is_?’ he asked in astonishment, ‘How come no-one mentioned it to me?’

‘She's _not_ my girlfriend,’ said Angel hotly, ‘She's a werewolf who makes use of Wolfram  & Hart's facilities during the full moon.’

‘And who always dresses like she's going out clubbing when she comes over,’ said Harmony.

‘So why do you have an alarm for her?’ Xander asked, glad that someone _else's_ personal life was on display for once, ‘Couldn't an aide do it for you or something?’

‘Well she – Uh… I,’ stammered Angel, ‘She –.’

‘Ask her out,’ said Xander.

‘ _What!?_ ’ exclaimed Angel, ‘I couldn't do that, I have too many – It would be a bad idea.’

‘Come on Mr Boss-Man,’ pressed Xander, ‘I was shot in the line of duty, don't I get a last request.’

‘You're not dying,’ said Angel.

‘Could change at any moment,’ said Xander impishly, ‘Come on, for me.’ Everyone's eyes were now focused on the spiky haired vampire.

‘Okay,’ he said finally, heading for the door, ‘I'll ask the sexy werewolf lady out. The things I do for you guys.’ And with that, he was gone.

‘You know,’ said Xander, ‘This may be the morphine talking but I could almost consider myself kindly disposed towards him.’

‘I better go with him,’ said Lorne, ‘I still have some stuff to finish back at the office.’ He left the same way as Angel, lightly whistling along to the tune of _‘She'll Be Going Round The Mountain.’_

‘He's certainly a character,’ observed Spike, idly flicking through a newspaper that had been left on Xander's bedside table. ‘Do you mind if I steal the crossword?’ he asked.

‘Sure, go to town on it,’ said Xander, lying back down, the five minutes of conversation having almost drained him entirely.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart lobby_ **

As Nina stepped out of the elevator she, again, could not help but feel shocked at the demons and monsters going about their business. No matter how many times she did this, she was quite certain that she was never going to get used to the sight of monsters in business suits. She saw Angel ahead of her, looking slightly out of breath and said, ‘Um… hey.’

‘Hey,’ he responded, ‘Back for the Wolfram & Hart Bed-and-Breakfast?’

‘Full moon cycle starts tonight, in...’ she checked her watch, ‘38 minutes, actually. Had a little snag getting out of the house.’

‘Haven't told your sister yet, huh?’ asked Angel, signing a document an aide brought him.

‘It's not the sort of thing that's easy to jump to in conversation. 'Oh, by the way, Jill, I've been a werewolf for 4 months,’ she said in a fake cheery voice, ‘I told her I was going camping in the desert again. She's starting to worry I've turned into some new agey, moon-worshipping Wicca person.’

‘Might be relieved to find out that you're just a werewolf,’ he joked, hoping it came across as funny and charming. Nina was polite enough to laugh at it. They spent the rest of the walk down to the basement level in comfortable silence. When they got down to her cage she confidently strode in, a far cry from her earlier apprehension the previous month.

‘Seems like you're getting used to the routine,’ he said, procrastinating. _Oh to Hell with it._ ‘Are you doing anything for breakfast tomorrow?’ he asked quickly, hoping to get it all out before he chickened out.

‘Uh… Um…. No,’ she stammered, ‘Why?’

‘Well,’ he began, ‘I was wondering if you wanted breakfast tomorrow. I mean, of course you're going to have breakfast, everybody has breakfast but I… Uh… I meant do you want to have breakfast with me?’ He exhaled. ‘You know that sounded much better in my head,’ he confessed, ‘I was hoping to come across as suave not… well that.’

‘Are you going to let me out again if I say no?’

‘It’s in the air.’

‘Then I guess I have no choice,’ she answered with a grin, ‘Breakfast sounds great.’

_Mental note to me: get Harris a new bike._

_And maybe a raise._

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram and Hart Lab_ **

Lorne strode into the lab, having agreed to fill in for a few hours while Fred and Wesley were at the hospital with Xander. Knox approached him and handed him what data they had gathered on the creepy, smiley children. ‘Hmmm,’ he mused thoughtfully, ‘All in front of the television within 7:00 to 7:30 you say?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Knox. Lorne sighed wearily.

‘Listen, sugar,’ he said, ‘You don't have to call me sir. After Andrew Lloyd Webber got his slimy mitts on it, it lost _all_ appeal.’

‘Whatever you say,’ Knox replied agreeably, ‘What was significant about the time 7:00 to 7:30?’ he asked.

‘Ah it's probably nothing,’ said Lorne, waving his hand in the air as though he could physically ‘shoo’ the idea away.

‘Come on,’ pressed Knox, ‘Right now some jackass has got us looking into aliens and comic villains so I'm open to anything.’

‘It's just this show,’ he answered, ‘Real popular kids' show in the So-Cal regional market. It's in the right time slot. It's in the right demographic.’

‘What's it called?’ Knox asked.

‘Smile time,’ he answered sourly. Knox immediately looked up the name and got an address for the studio in which it was filmed. ‘It's just a thought mind you,’ he said quickly, ‘And it would be embarrassing for Wolfram & Hart to go in guns blazing only for it to be harmless. PR is _very_ important right now.’

‘Fair point,’ agreed Knox before suddenly grinning, ‘What about Spike?’ he asked.

‘What about him?’ asked Lorne, wondering where he was going with this.

‘Well,’ explained Knox, ‘He's technically not on our payroll, he's a freelance. So we can send him in and if it's a bust we can claim a complete lack of knowledge.’

‘Alright,’ said Lorne, ‘I'll give him a call and ask him to have a sticky beak around and see if anything turns up.’ He paused and suddenly remembered something. ‘Who was it who asked you guys to look into aliens and comic villains.’

‘Oh that was me,’ said Knox easily.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

Fred's phone rang. ‘Hello?’ she answered before frowning slightly and then handed Spike the phone. ‘It's for you,’ she said. Spike took the phone from.

‘Spike here,’ he answered, ‘Hey Lorne. Yes. Yes. Okay. Sure, I'll look into it. What's the address again? Yes I got it. I'll head over there immediately.’ He tossed the phone back to Fred. ‘Time for me to head off,’ he said, ‘Lorne has a theory 'bout those kiddies and he wants me to check it out.’

‘Speaking of,’ said Fred, getting up, ‘We really should head back as well.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Wesley, ‘You're quite right.’ As he reached for his coat, something occurred to Xander. _Why not? I'm already on a roll._

‘It's great that Angel agreed to ask out this Nina girl that he clearly seems to like,’ he said casually.

‘Yeah,’ said Harmony, immediately seeing where he was going with this. ‘I hate the whole ‘will they, won't they?’ thing people do.’ Spike immediately turned his face away so no-one could see the difficult he was having in keeping a straight face. He too could see what Xander had planned. Apparently, it was obvious to everyone present save Fred and Wesley.

‘Yes, I suppose so,’ said Fred non-committedly.

‘What about you, Wes?’ he asked.

‘What about me?’ replied Wesley.

‘Do you think needlessly dragging out the progression of two people getting together is pointless and annoying?’ he asked.

‘I guess?’ he said, “I don’t really think about that kind of thing but sure, why not?’

‘So why haven't you asked out Fred yet?’ he inquired. That did it for Spike. He exploded with laughter which then set of Harmony.

‘Oh you two are so stupid,’ he crowed, ‘A blind moron could have seen where he was going with that.’ Noticing Fred and Wesley glaring at him, he quickly said, ‘I should be going now,’ and he did exactly that. Awkward silence followed his departure.

‘What?’ asked Xander, ‘You,’ he pointed at Fred, ‘ _Heavily_ implied you like him. You,’ he pointed at Wesley, ‘Actually went out and said it. I also _told_ both of you that the other was into you and it's been _weeks._ I'm not gonna hang around for years as you guys pull a Ross and Rachel on us, I hated that storyline and I am _not_ going to live through that.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Seventeen minutes later_ **

**_Location: An extremely awkward car trip._ **

Wesley and Fred were both silent as he drove them both back to Wolfram & Hart.

And silent.

And still silent.

And even more silent.

‘Okay,’ said Fred finally, ‘Pull over please.’

‘Uh, okay,’ said Wesley, pulling into the side of the road. When the car was at a still he said, ‘About what Xander said back there –.’ Strangely he wasn't able to say anything more but, to be fair to him, I have heard that it is difficult to speak when a beautiful woman starts kissing you. Naturally, he forgot whatever it was he was going to say and matched her with equal enthusiasm. After what might have been an all too brief eternity she broke the kiss.

‘Do I have your attention now?’ she asked him.

‘You have whatever you want,’ he said. She checked the car's digital clock.

‘You know,’ she said mischievously, ‘It's five-thirty. We're officially off the clock until tomorrow morning. Were you doing anything tonight?’

‘Nothing I couldn't heartlessly abandon,’ he said, kissing her again.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

Xander grinned cockily. ‘Oh yeah,’ he said, ‘I am awesome.’ Harmony rolled her eyes.

‘You'd never know that you'd just been shot,’ she said, half serious.

‘Hey,’ he defended, ‘If I'd known it would be this fun I'd have done it years ago.’

‘Don't say that,’ she said quickly. He scoffed quietly.

_She doesn't love me._

_She can't love me._

_She is incapable of loving me._

_Yet still…_

‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘You know I didn't thank you for waiting for me. For an entire day.’

‘I was worried,’ she said genuinely.

‘I think I'm starting to get that.’ He suddenly remembered something that Giles had once told him years ago.

_They had been patrolling without Buffy or the others and he (in a moment of weakness, when he still foolishly saw him as a father figure) asked him how a normal person like him could survive in the world of monsters and magic. Giles was silent for a while before leading him to a park bench. He sat him down and said a sentence of twenty-four words:_

_‘The first lesson a watcher learns is to separate truth from illusion. Because in the world of magics, it's the hardest thing to do.’_

Those twenty-four words later defined him. It helped him finally gain a sense of self-worth after seeing the best parts of him in a duplicate, it showed him Dawn's pain when she discovered that she would never be a Slayer and it shamed him when he believed the words what he believed to be a future him. He remembered being glad Giles didn't come to the wedding, he would have been disgusted with him, being so easily duped.

‘Harmony,’ he began hesitantly, wondering how far he was willing to go with this line of thought.

‘Yeah?’ she responded.

‘There's this thing on in two weeks that Wesley recommended,’ he said, ‘They're doing a tour of _Jesus Christ Superstar_ and I thought… I was wondering if you wanted to come see it. With me. As in, the two of us.’

‘Are you asking me out on a date?’ she asked.

‘Yeah,’ he said simply. She was literally speechless, her mouth hanging over somewhat comically.

‘Okay,’ she said, finally regaining her senses, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ she asked, vulnerable.

‘I'm sure,’ he answered.

_What the hell did that old man know anyway?_

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Filming Studio_ **

‘Lousy third-rate security,’ muttered Spike as walked down the hallway. It really was kind of bizarre, there should have been _someone_ even if it was just a fat guy sitting in front of some monitors. Okay, there had been one guy, a janitor, but that had been _weird_. Spike might as well have been invisible for all the notice he took of him. He had even called out to him and yet there was no response. He walked into the main office and quickly gazed around the room. _Eureka._ There was a crack of light behind one of the filing cabinets. He easily shoved it aside to reveal a hole in the wall. Ducking slightly, he went through the hole and saw a door marked simply ‘don't.’ ‘Yeah, like that's gonna stop me.’ He casually punched through the lock and opened the door, wondering what other weird thing was going to happen tonight. Behind the door was a small room but it was the room's solitary occupant that drew Spike's attention. He (at least Spike thought it was a he) was sitting, hunched over resting his elbows on his knees wearing a towel over his head. Hovering above him was this weird egg shaped thing, no less than half a metre tall. Spike took a step towards him but the man started to violently tremble and convulse, hurling himself even lower.

‘Y-you shouldn't be… here,’ he (it was a he) struggled to say. It was like he was fighting his own mouth for control. Above him, the large egg began to split near the bottom, light shining through the gap. The gap that looked kind of like a smiley face. Suddenly Spike was hurled back into the wall by some unseen force, resulting in him being buried under the remains of the now ruined wall.

He felt strange, woozy even, the room now looked like it was three times bigger. He rubbed his hand over his face and then stopped.

_Since when do I have_ four _fingers?_

**~o~O~o~**

**_Five minutes later_ **

To say that Spike's day had not gone exactly to plan would be like saying cancer is a mild inconvenience. Now he'd been around for a few hundred years, he'd done a lot of strange stuff (the incident in the Vatican still made him smile) but he could honestly say, without the slightest chance of contradiction, that he had _never_ spent any time as a puppet. Not a puppeteer but an actual honest to god Kermit the Frog Muppet style puppet. One would not be inaccurate in saying that he felt rather distressed.

‘Balls,’ he said, glad he still possessed the ability to speak, ‘This kind of rubbish never happens to Angel.’ Given that his situation was highly embarrassing, there was only one person in all of Los Angeles that he could turn to.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Fred's House_ **

**_6am_ **

To say that the past few years of Wesley's life had been unusually difficult would have been the biggest understatement since Winston Churchill referred to the Nazis as a mild inconvenience. Okay, Winston Churchill probably never described the Nazis as a mild inconvenience, but you get the idea. The last few years had been rubbish. He'd had his throat cut, watched the woman he loved be with someone else, became involved with the enigma that was Lilah Morgan, shot what he had believed to be his father and he violently left the gang over something that had seemed terribly important at the time but could now barely remember. All of that now seemed entirely trivial given that staring into the most spectacular pair of eyes that could ever have existed.

He and Fred had spent a good portion of the night talking, kissing and getting used to the idea that they mutually liked each other. When it was really late he went to the couch but she would have none of that chivalrous nonsense. ‘Come on,’ she had said teasingly, ‘I know you're not going to take advantage of me or anything like that.’

‘Good morning,’ she said finally, radiating warmth.

‘Good morning,’ he replied, kissing her chastely on the lips.

‘How'd you sleep?’ she asked him.

‘Well,’ he said,’ Considering I slept last night in a business suit, never better.’ She giggled.

‘I wasn't going to ask but you don't _normally_ wear suits to bed right?’ she asked.

‘No,’ he quickly answered, ‘Of course not.’ She massaged her throat.

‘Oh,’ she groaned, ‘How long did we spend talking last night? My throat's all scratchy.’

‘Want me to make coffee or tea or something?’ he asked.

‘Coffee would be great,’ she answered, getting up and walking to the bathroom, ‘I'm just going to have a shower and get changed for work,’ she called over her shoulder, ‘Mugs are in the cupboard above the stove.’

As he started to heat the water he heard the phone ring. ‘Fred,’ he called to her, ‘The phone's ringing. Do you want me to answer it?’

‘No, it's okay,’ she called from the shower, ‘Just let it ring through. I'll call them back later.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Payphone outside the filming studio_ **

‘Oh come on,’ snarled Spike as his call went through to the answering machine, ‘What could you possibly be doing that's more important?’ He slammed the receiver back into its socket in frustration. The movement caused him to lose his balance and he fell off the pile of boxes he had piled up in order to reach the phone. He only had a single quarter left so he had to decide who else he could call for help. ‘I cannot believe I'm doing this,’ he grumbled aloud as he climbed the boxes once again, ready to begin dialling.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

_Xander hurled himself to the ground, dragging the bike with him. He made himself as flat as he could, using the bike as cover. Moments later the shots started. Some were too short, others were to long but a few managed to hit the bike. One actually passed through its metal framework and hit him in the gut. He couldn't scream, it was all he could do to let out a weak grunt of pain._

_Only this time, the backup never arrived. He could hear the sound of incoming footsteps. He saw a young white man walk around the bike. Despite his obvious youth, he had hair as white as paper all the way down to his very eyebrows. He smiled reassuringly and then put a bullet in his head._

Harmony was still at his side when he woke up. Xander smiled, remembering the previous night, the memories of his dreams rapidly fading. When one of the nurses informed her that visiting hours were over, she calmly vamped out and politely asked her how just how dedicated to that rule she was prepared to be. They hadn't been bothered since. He looked over at her, still asleep in the chair, her head resting on her chest. She hadn't left him once since he had first woken up after being shot. Angel, true to his word, placed her on indefinite paid leave for as long as he was in the hospital.

He did not have any illusions about her. He knew what she was, he had seen what she had been before she had changed and yet something about her sleeping form seemed so… innocent. She was jerked awake by the sound of her cellular phone ringing.

‘What…?’ she began drowsily before coming to her senses. She flipped open the phone and answered it.

‘Hello?’ she said into the receiver, ‘Harmony here.’ Even from his distance Xander could hear the agitated voice on the line. ‘Yeah, he's here,’ she said frowning slightly before handing the phone over to him. ‘It's for you,’ she said.

‘Hello, Xander speaking,’ he said, wondering who on Earth would want to contact him through Harmony.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Payphone outside the filming studio_ **

Spike cursed as his soft fist squashed against the dial pad. Puppets were not designed to dial phones. Finally, after minutes and minutes of failure, he got through to the number he wanted. He waited for three rings until he finally got through. ‘ _Hello, Harmony here,_ ’ said the blonde vampire on the other end of the line.

‘Harmony,’ he said frantically, ‘It's me, Spike. Is Harris there with you?’

‘ _Yeah, he's here,_ ’ she said.

‘Well can you put him on?’ he asked irritably. He could hear a shuffling sound as the phone was passed over to the person he wanted to talk to.

‘ _Hello, Xander speaking._ ’

‘Oh, Harris,’ he exclaimed in relief, ‘Thank you for giving me a genuinely new experience.’

‘ _And what's that?_ ’ asked Xander, clearly wondering where he was going with this.

‘Being pleased to hear your voice,’ Spike said sarcastically.

‘ _Okay,_ ’ replied Xander, ‘ _I'm hanging up now. Good talking to you, Spike._ ’

‘Wait!’ said Spike frantically.

‘ _What do you want Spike?_ ’ asked Xander wearily.

‘Are you able to leave the hospital?’ he asked.

‘ _Well,_ ’ he said, ‘ _The doctor's haven't discharged me but I was thinking of leaving today anyway._ ’

‘I don't suppose you could pick me up?’ he practically begged.

**~o~O~o~**

Xander passed the phone back to Harmony, smirking a bit. ‘What is it?’ she asked, ‘What did he want?’

‘He said he wanted me to pick him up from a filming studio,’ Xander answered, sounding bewildered, ‘He sounded very odd over the line, like he was embarrassed or something.’

‘Well he can be embarrassed on his own,’ said Harmony firmly, ‘There is no way in Hell I'm letting you leave this room. You were shot, remember?’

‘I vaguely remember that, yes,’ he said, ‘I was there. Look, you can't stop me from going.’

‘Actually I can,’ she answered smugly, ‘I'm already _waaaay_ stronger than you and, given the whole being shot thing, I really don't see you putting up much of a fight.’

‘Look,’ he said in what he hoped was a calm, rational voice, ‘He called me. That suggests that he's desperate. Not only that,’ he looked her dead in the eye, ‘I _hate_ hospitals. I was planning on leaving today anyway. I've spent far too much of my life in these places already.’ She smiled sadly.

‘I suppose they are rather dull,’ she said stoically, offering him her hand. He took it gratefully.

‘I know I've kind of been saying this all day,’ he said, ‘But thank you. I really appreciate what you've done for me. I don't think I deserve it but I'm still grateful.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Filming Studio_ **

Harmony helped Xander out of the passenger seat and into the wheelchair that he was going to have to use for the foreseeable future. The doctors had initially protested against his leaving but one pleasant fang revealing smile from Harmony quickly persuaded them that they were quite urgently needed elsewhere. _Anywhere_. ‘You good?’ she asked him.

‘Yeah, I'm fine,’ he said stoically, ‘Now he said that he was near the payphone which is over there.’ He was wheeling towards the phone when he saw some boxes to his left shift slightly. Then they shifted a second time, this time with greater force. They revealed the fluffy form of Spike.

Naturally both Harmony and Xander cackled with laughter when they saw him.

‘Okay,’ said Spike, quite irritated, ‘That's enough.’ Both Xander and Harmony quickly ignored him, too focused on getting all of the laughs out of their systems. ‘ _Come on_ , it's hardly the weirdest thing we've seen,’ he said. Again, they ignored him.

‘What on earth happened to you?’ asked Xander, wiping a tear from his eye, ‘You're all… puppety.’

‘I don't know,’ answered Spike, ‘Lorne asked me to check out this television show, thinking it might be behind all those smiling kiddies. One moment I'm walking about, minding my own… well, someone else's business and then the next I'm this.’

‘You're short,’ said Harmony, ‘Very short.’ She then ruffled his hair. ‘And you're all _adorable_ ,’ she said, knowing that would absolutely annoy him more than anything else she could say.

‘Harris,’ Spike demanded, ‘Why is she here?’

‘In case you haven't noticed, Gonzo the Great,’ retorted Xander, ‘I'm kind of in a wheel chair, you know, cause of the whole being shot thing. Can't really drive at the moment.’

‘Look,’ said Spike, for a moment he was entirely serious despite the whole puppet thing, ‘I am sorry about that. I called Fred first but I couldn't get through and there is no way I was going to call Angel so that left you.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Wolfram and Hart lobby_ **

‘I still think this is a bad idea,’ said Spike.

‘Quiet,’ retorted Xander, ‘Briefcases don't talk.’

‘What did you keep in here?’ asked Spike, ‘It smells like something died in here.’

‘ _Quiet!_ ’ he hissed as he saw Rudy walking towards him or, rather, the vampire pushing his wheelchair. Harmony chewed her lip nervously as he scanned her for any human blood in her system.

The machine read a negative and gave a _ping!_ Rudy turned and started to walk away.

_Ah-choo!_

Rudy stopped, dead in his tracks, and did a complete 180, starring open mouthed at Xander.

‘Um, excuse me,’ he said, ‘Did your suitcase just _sneeze?_ ’

‘Um, no,’ deadpanned Xander, ‘That was a fart. Now,’ he said to Harmony, ‘We need to find Fred.’ Rudy nodded, not entirely convinced.

‘If you say so sir,’ he said before leaving as quickly as possible.

‘Is it just me?’ asked Xander, ‘Or does he get more and more timid each week?’

‘Let's just find Fred before we get caught,’ said Harmony.

‘You know,’ responded Xander, ‘It's not like we're smuggling drugs across the border. We just have a person hidden in a briefcase… Okay that sounds _much_ worse when you say it like that.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Angel's Office_ **

Angel was busy setting up his office so that it would be a suitable location for breakfast. He had pushed the desk to one side and had replaced it with a smaller, more intimate table. He had several different types of food (the standard stuff like cereal, toast, bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, crumpets, orange juice, apple juice, something called ‘Breakfast Juice’ and an assortment of fruits). Okay, maybe he went a little overboard but cut him some slack. Being a vampire meant that he wasn't entirely sure on what was good and what was not but he was fairly certain that Nina would like something available

He was just doing the finishing touches when one of the aides (Rudy he thought was his name) entered the office.

‘Yes?’ asked Angel expectedly, ‘Is something wrong?’

‘I just thought that you would like to know that Alexander Harris entered the building moments ago,’ he said helpfully.

‘Harris?’ asked Angel. _What's he doing out of the hospital?_ ‘Did he say what he was doing?’ he asked.

‘Um,’ said Rudy, trying to remember, ‘He said something about looking for Fred – I mean Miss Burkle's office.’

‘Okay,’ said Angel, ‘Thanks for letting me know.’ What on Earth does he want with Fred?

**~o~O~o~**

**_Fred's Office_ **

‘What are you doing here?’ demanded Fred, seeing Xander wheeled into her office by Harmony, ‘What are you doing away from the hospital?’ She turned onto Harmony. ‘And what are _you_ doing, aiding and abetting him?’ She was trying to sound furious and wrathful but she suspected it wasn't working as well as she hoped.

‘Fun night?’ Xander asked cheekily.

‘Shut your mouth,’ she chided but the smirk robbed the words of any malice. Unable to even keep up the pretence of anger, she sighed and, again, asked him, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Well,’ said Xander, fumbling with the clasps of his briefcase, ‘You know how Spike was asked to check out that Smile Time show?’

‘Yeah,’ she nodded, uncomprehending, ‘Your point?’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘Let's just say he bit off a tiny bit more than he could chew.’ He opened the case and there, stuffed between books and papers, was the tiny, irritated, struggling for breath puppet Spike. He ambled out of it and climbed up onto Fred's desk.

‘Oh my God,’ she exclaimed, rushing to his side, ‘Spike you're…’ She shrugged apologetically and said, ‘Cute!’

‘Oh,’ he sighed in exasperation, ‘Please don't.’ She ignored him and inspected his new form excitedly.

‘Look at the little hands,’ she said, holding onto the tiny digits and wiggling them around, like a child with her first Barbie. ‘And the hair,’ she squealed, ruffling his now synthetic locks.

‘ _GAH!_ ’ he exclaimed, slapping her hand away, ‘ _Stop it!_ ’

‘Sorry,’ said Fred, not looking all that apologetic, ‘What happened to you?’ Spike shrugged.

‘I'm not sure,’ he said, ‘I went over to Smile Time last night, and I think their office is under some kind of spell. I met this guy with a towel over his head, and something exploded! I woke up like this. Ugh.’ He groaned in exasperation.

‘We should really get Wesley to look at this,’ said Xander, ‘If it's a spell, he'd be the best guy to look into it.’

‘If you say so,’ said Spike, ‘Just so long as you don't involve… Oh no.’ He whispered the last part, his words dripping with defeat. As luck would have it, Angel (having just left his office) had chosen that moment to enter Fred's increasingly crowded office.

‘Spike?’ he asked incredulously, ‘Is that you?’

‘Don't. Say. Anything.’ If Spike possessed teeth, they would have been gritted. A large grin washed over Angel's face.

‘You're a…’

‘Don't say it.’

‘You're a teensy little puppet.’ Spike leapt off the desk at Angel but Xander, already prepared, grabbed him by the back of his jacket. Spike's arms and legs rotated to no effect, he could not reach that insufferable jerk only a few feet away.

‘Come on Harris,’ he demanded, ‘Let me at him.’ If it were possible, Angel's glee increased tenfold.

‘Oh _thank you,_ God,’ he crowed, ‘He actually said it!’ Spike growled and continued to comically grab at the air. Angel checked his watch.

‘It's on right now,’ he said, ‘Smile Time.’ He turned and strode out of the office with everyone following him. He led them to the staff room and switched on the television. They were all greeted with the sight of several puppets of a similar design to Spike all prancing about and singing off key. Angel rubbed his hands together. _This is_ too _good._ ‘Oh my god,’ he said, ‘Spike would fit right in with these guys.’

It was at that moment that Xander reached a point that he had previously thought impossible.

He actually felt empathy for Spike.

So, to honour that feeling of empathy, he released Spike's collar and the miniature puppet was launched at the CEO of Wolfram & Hart with a speed most puppets lack. He tackled Angel to the ground and started beating on him. Angel probably would have been able to do a better job of defending himself if he wasn't pissing himself laughing.

Fred, ignoring the comical scene to the side, reached for her phone and dialled the number for her assistant.

‘Tracy,’ she instructed, ‘Record the program that's running on channel 12 right now. Use everything. I'm gonna need a full-spectrum analysis.’

The puppets on the screen were now signing what they called the ‘Self-Esteem Song’ and, despite the name, it was doing _extremely_ little to calm Spike down.

‘ _Self-esteem is for everybody_

_Self-esteem is for everyone_

_You can dream and be anybody_

_But self-esteem is how you get it done._

_Self-esteem is how you get it..._ ’

Xander's laugh of disbelief brought Fred's attention back to the fight. Spike had lifted her boss up over his head and launched him through the wall, leaping after him with the ferocity usually reserved for… well Angel. But usually for the times when they were trying to kill each other.

Xander wheeled up to Fred. ‘We should really get Wesley on this pronto,’ he said.

‘Yeah,’ she said, not taking her eyes off the spectacle, ‘You should let him know. I'll get Lorne to find out who's running the show and then I'll send him and Gunn down to put some pressure on him and see if he spills. I hope it's not too much for Gunn. He's been really distracted lately.’ She paused and looked down at him. ‘Don't think I'm just gonna forget the whole leaving the hospital thing. As soon as you let him know I want you to _rest_.’ She practically hissed the last part. He smiled innocently at her.

‘Whatever you say, Mother,’ he replied.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Wesley's Office_ **

‘Could you please stop doing that?’ Spike asked irritably. ‘That’ being Wesley's non-stop giggling at his increasingly depressing predicament.

‘I'm sorry,’ said Wesley, ‘But it _is_ very funny.’ He then stopped, as if a switch had been flicked and he reverted to his standard professionalism. ‘It's clearly some sort of hex... or a—a powerful warding magic,’ he stated seriously.

‘Ya think?’ retorted Spike.

‘Xander?’ Wesley asked, ‘Have you ever seen anything like this in Sunnydale?’

‘Actually yeah,’ responded Xander, ‘First year I knew about this stuff we met a guy who had been transformed into a puppet. Not Muppet styles though, more like _Pinocchio_ really. Made of wood.’

‘How did you guys fix that?’ Spike asked hopefully. Xander looked awkward.

‘Actually,’ he said evasively, ‘We kind of… didn't.’

‘Well that's just bollocks,’ said Spike calmly before sending his fist through the wall.’

‘Don't worry Spike, we'll think of something,’ said Xander, actually surprising himself.

They spent the next twenty minutes pouring over the books, looking for anything that could be a lead but there was very little on puppets in them. They received word that Gunn and Lorne had paid the owner, Framkin, a visit but to no avail. He, without admitting any culpability, practically dared them to try something. After a while, Fred came in with recordings of the week's episodes of _Smile Time_ for them to analyse. Xander could honestly say that the show made him positively lonesome for giant mayor snakes and Byzantium knights. It was absolutely bizarre, there was _no_ way kids could voluntarily watch this, they had better standards than this. What happened to the classics like Power Rangers and Sesame Street?

_The ‘Polo Puppet’ was now taking part in some sort of news skit._

‘ _And now it's time for action math news with your action math experts, Ratio Hornblower aaaaand Groofus!’ he yelled in a needlessly over the top manner. Ratio Hornblower tooted enthusiastically in response._

‘ _Thank you, Polo,’ said Groofus seriously, like this was the Princess Di of his career, ‘Our top story this morning... 2 plus 2 is 4! And in related news, 4 plus 4...is 8!_

Fred actually giggled at this. ‘Seriously?’ Xander asked despairingly, ‘You think this is good?’

‘I don't know,’ said Wesley, smiling at her, ‘I actually might be starting to like this.’ Xander rolled his eyes.

‘You know,’ said Xander, ‘It hasn't even been twenty-four hours and I already regret putting you two together. How did that work out anyway?’

‘Uh… it's good?’ Wesley said, looking at Fred for confirmation.

‘It's good,’ she affirmed. Wesley breathed a small sigh of relief which was interrupted by Xander.

‘Hang on,’ he said, his flippant attitude discarded for a more professional one, ‘What was that? Just rewind back a few seconds.’ Fred moved it back fifteen seconds.

‘I don't see anything,’ she said.

‘No he's right,’ said Wesley, ‘I think I saw it as well. Maybe if we lose the volume and pause it… _Now_.’

The image on the television was that of Polo, his hands pressed right up against the screen. Xander put the volume back on and he was returned to the rest of the puppets, taking part in their musical number. He hit mute a second time and Polo was, again, pressed up against the screen.

‘Well that's just terrifying,’ said Xander.

‘It must be the song,’ said Wesley, ‘When the song is playing, it acts as a sort of cloaking spell allowing Framkin to address his target without being seen by the rest of his viewers.’

‘So that's how he's been hiding it,’ said Fred. Wesley turned to Xander and grinned victoriously before looking back at her.

‘No,’ he said resolutely, ‘That's how he _was_ hiding it.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Angel's Office_ **

‘This was a really good idea,’ said Nina, having overcome most of her initial shyness around the handsome vampire, ‘Thanks for all the effort.’ She gestured at all of the food Angel had gathered.

‘Well I didn't really know what you ate and I'm not really a breakfast person…’ he said, uncharacteristically bashful.

‘I think it was kind of sweet,’ she said. Angel was going to respond when Wesley, Fred and Xander walked (or wheeled) into his office. Fred was carrying Spike like a teddy bear.

‘I hope we're not interrupting,’ said Xander.

‘Well actually –.’ Angel began before being cut off.

‘We're not?’ he interrupted, ‘That's good.’

‘We found out what it was,’ said Wesley, ‘It's all in the broadcast – Some very nuanced magic, but we found it, finally.’ Nina excused herself and left but not before chastely kissing Angel on the mouth. _Harris_ really _needs a raise._

‘It's a hidden carrier wave masked by a spell that turns the TV into a 2-way conduit with direct access to the viewer,’ continued Fred as soon as she left.

‘That's how he's been draining energy from the children, and judging from the strength of yesterday's signal...’ Wesley's voice trailed off.

‘Framkin's ready to take out the whole audience,’ Fred concluded grimly.

‘The object Spike described in that secret room is most likely a repository for the children's life force,’ said Wesley, ‘We'll have to break the binding magic on it.’

‘Which should free those children and... reverse Spike's puppet problem,’ said Fred. At those words, Spike hugged her, positively _oozing_ with sickening positive emotion.

‘We have to move quickly,’ said Xander, ‘Gunn and Lorne already spoke to him so he knows we're on to him.’

‘Not him,’ said a voice, ‘Them.’ Gunn strode into the room, more confident than the last time Fred saw him. _What happened?_ ‘Franklin's not doing this,’ he continued, ‘It's the puppets. They're demons. The show is possessed. ‘Smile Time's ratings hit an all-time low last year. Framkin made a deal with some devils to bring it back to number one.’

‘Are you sure?’ Xander asked sceptically, ‘I've seen hundreds of deals with demons… But never involving _puppets_ on T.V.’

‘I'm positive,’ he replied. ‘Every contract signed with the lower planes is filed in the Library of Demonic Congress. You just gotta know where to look. Pretty tricky legalese, too. Framkin must have missed some of the fine print.’

‘This let them take over,’ finished Wesley, ‘Quite brilliant actually.’

‘They also have Framkin’ he continued, ‘They have an _extremely_ distinctive M.O.’

‘They've done this before?’ asked Xander.

‘You see the last few seasons of _Happy Days_?’ he asked. Xander conceded the point. ‘Point is—you wanna take out _Smile Time_ , take out the puppets.’

‘So we go after them now?’ asked Xander.

‘No,’ said Wesley firmly, ‘ _We_ go after them now. _You_ go home and recuperate. You're not fooling anyone with the tough guy act, me especially. You'll thank me when your stitches don't open up during the night.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Well isn't that just wizard,’ Xander said sarcastically. The elevator to his flat proudly bore an ‘Out of Order – Please Use the Stairs’ sign. He ran his hands over his wheel wondering just how he was going to make it up there without calling for help. Not that he could call for help – he didn't have a cellular phone, just a landline. He waited around for a few minutes, humming and twiddling his thumbs. ‘Well,’ he said aloud, ‘Not that this isn't fun but –.’

‘But what?’ asked a voice from behind him. He wheeled around 180o and saw Wesley standing there, a sardonic expression on his face. ‘Need any help?’ he asked, gesturing at the stairs.

‘All I can get,’ answered Xander. Wesley took hold of the chairs handles and pulled him up the four flights of stairs and pushed him to the flat. The bumps that accompanied each step hurt Xander's wound but he was silent, not wanting to show any weakness in front of his boss. ‘What are you doing here?’ asked Xander, ‘Shouldn't you be helping fight the puppets.’ He laughed for a second. ‘I know this is serious,’ he said, ‘But you just can't say that sentence and take it seriously.’

‘I wanted to make sure you came here,’ said Wesley, ‘Anyway, the spell isn't that complicated and Angel and Fred shouldn't have a problem with it.’

‘Blowing off your girlfriend to hang out with the invalid,’ he snarked, wheeling into the living room, Wesley in tow, ‘I should be honoured. And I just realised that I should have used different words on that previous sentence.’

‘Probably,’ agreed Wesley, sitting down on the sofa, ‘Speaking of Fred, thanks.’

‘I figured I owed you one,’ said Xander easily, ‘Well, more than one but that was all I could think of at the time.’

‘Then allow me to return the favour,’ he replied, ‘Take it easy for a while. Trust me on this. A few years ago I was in the exact same situation as you. I was shot by a police officer, don't ask, it’s a long story. Anyway, afterwards, I pushed myself too hard and it slowed my recovery by quite a bit.’

‘No promises,’ said Xander, ‘But I'll try.’

‘I suppose that's all I can ask,’ he replied. The two men sat in silence for a while until Wesley spoke again. ‘What are your intentions regarding Harmony?’ he asked boldly.

‘You certainly don't beat about the bush do you?’ Xander asked in amazement.

‘I've found that it tends to save time,’ he replied dryly ,’So?’

‘I – I don't know,’ Xander answered, ‘I really don't. Some days I feel… Better? I'm not deluding myself, you don't have to worry about that. Let me guess,’ he said, ‘Same thing happened to you and you have another pearl of wisdom to share with me?’

‘More or less,’ replied Wesley. And he spent the next ten minutes telling him about Lilah and how that led him down a very dark path.

‘Why are you sharing this with me?’ he asked. Wesley looked at him intently.

‘I suppose I see a bit of myself in you,’ he said, ‘Surrounded by gods and trying to reach their level. It's very me.’ Xander was going to respond when the phone rang. It was Fred telling them (on speaker) that the puppet business was dealt with and that Spike would be normal (as normal as he got, that is) in a couple of days.

‘Back to work?’ asked Xander, after hanging up.

‘I guess so,’ answered Wesley, ‘Just… think on what I said.’

‘I will,’ he promised, ‘Thanks for the talk.’

‘Anytime.’

**~o~O~o~**

Willow catapulted out of her nightmare with such a force that the vase on the dressing table on the other side of the room was shattered magically. Kennedy instantly woke up at the noise, her Slayer physiology pumping adrenaline through her veins, priming her for a fight. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked her trembling girlfriend. Willow continued to shake so Kennedy gently held her. ‘Shh,’ she crooned, ‘It's okay, you're here with me. What's wrong?’ Willow only spoke once for the remainder of the night

‘Something's coming back,’ she said, just before the dawn.

 


	7. Who He Was/Who He Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate to save Fred Burkle, Xander passes the point of no return.

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere Africa_ **

_Xander held out his hands, the palm facing outwards, completely unarmed. ‘It's okay,’ he said to the girl, ‘I'm not going to hurt you.’ He knew that she couldn't understand him but he was hoping she could understand the tone. The girl was only fourteen years old but she was also a newly activated Slayer. He had found her amidst a group of eviscerated corpses. A gang of soldiers had come through the town, killing everything in their path, Xander and the Slayers under his command had come in to search for a unidentified Slayer Willow had sensed and see if she was still alive. He had found the girl wandering around the streets aimlessly, covered in blood that he suspected was not only hers, her clothes torn and skin bruised. It was clear that her abilities had only been activated for a few hours at best._

_Xander had actually been on the other side of the African continent up until the previous week but Willow called and told him that she had discovered a recently activated Slayer and, since he was the closest, asked if he could take his group and look into it. It had seemed so simple when she said it._

_She looked right at him, right_ through _him, as the he wasn't even there. Then her eyes focussed, she looked at his camo gear. The same sort of camo gear that the mercenaries must have worn. She barred her teeth and charged at him, screaming a wordless cry of rage, knocking him into the dirt. She scratched at his face, leaving bloody lines all over the skin. He managed to push her off of him, barely. He tried to get to his feet but she punched him in the knee, sending him to the ground again. Suddenly, she was thrown off of him with more force than he was capable of. He looked of and saw that Renée, one of his Slayers, had found him and rushed to his aid._

_He gingerly touched the cuts on his face and he noticed that his eye patch was torn to shreds. Just like him._

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day (Three Months after Xander started working for Wolfram & Hart – One Month after he was shot)_ **

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Lobby_ **

‘Stop grumbling,’ said Harmony, ‘It's just a cane and it's not gonna be around forever.’ Xander hobbled after her, putting all his weight on the metal cane that he would be using for the foreseeable future. He had enough strength to walk but not unaided, hence the cane. Harmony was of course being entirely unsympathetic to his complaints. After spending the entire month looking after him, she up and decided that he was going to stop lying around and get back to work. She also booked him several appointments with a physical therapist to help him overcome his injury. When he complained she simply said, ‘I'm not letting you go Harris. Get used to it.’

He got used to it.

‘Good to see you up and about Harris,’ said Spike from behind them. Xander and Harmony turned around to see Spike, Angel, Wesley and Fred entering the lobby. Wesley had mentioned last night that they were going to fight a demon that was about to spawn. ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘Spill. I want details.’

‘Oh nothing much,’ said Wesley, ‘Just your typical demonic birthing gone horribly wrong.’

‘If you say so,’ said Xander sceptically.

‘So you back with us?’ asked Spike.

‘Yeah,’ answered Xander, ‘As fun as hanging around the house is, it gets old fast. Did I miss anything important last week?’ Spike jerked his head in the general direction of Wesley and Fred.

‘Just these two becoming even more unbearable,’ he said with mock disgust.

‘Ignore him,’ said Fred.

‘I usually try.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_Her name was Kioni. After she had been restrained Xander spoke to her with the small amount of Arabic he had picked up and told her that he was not with the soldiers. She obviously didn't believe him at first but, after having his girls give a demonstration of their abilities, she was willing to listen. He told her about Buffy and about the work she was doing, tracking down Slayers to train. He told her that she could come with them, her choice, and that they could help her. Looking around at the destruction he wondered whether or not he was trying to convince her or himself._

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart – Science Lab_ **

Knox had been busy working all through the night. There had been an accident in Files and Records and several important journals had been damaged. He was trying to transcribe what he could from memory. He was interrupted by a deliveryman wheeling in a massive sarcophagus. ‘Whoa,’ said Knox, ‘What's this?’

‘Delivery,’ said the man. _Great, he has a firm grasp of the obvious._

‘Ancient relics is two floors down,’ said Knox helpfully, hoping he would leave and let him get back to work.

‘Invoice reads: Science Department. Winifred Burkle,’ he said, placing a folder on the box. _Oh, now I get it. It's finally here._

‘Do you need me to sign anything?’ Knox asked, successfully keeping the excitement out of his voice.

‘Been signed,’ he said before leaving abruptly.

_Everything is ready. This is going to be so cool._

**~o~O~o~**

Xander followed Wesley into Gunn's office, his boss walking slower so he could keep up. They entered to find Gunn signing what he later discovered was called _Three Little Maids From School Are We._ ‘What's up?’ he asked the visitors.

‘Just you singing patter songs,’ said Xander, ‘What with you? You're all good moody.’

‘I am,’ he said, glancing at Wesley. ‘Look, I gotta be straight with you 'cause this is kinda blowin' my mind.’

‘Tell me,’ said Wesley, always curious.

‘Fred and I are getting back together,’ he said, smiling. Wesley stifled a chocking sound and disguised it as a cough. Xander, fairly certain his boss was being played, turned around so that he couldn't see his smile. ‘She was so keyed up from last night's fight, she asked me over. We ended up talking for hours like old times.’ Wesley was doing his very best to keep his hands and face as still as a rock. Suddenly, Gunn started laughing. ‘I can't even keep this up 'cause your face is gonna make me weep,’ he crowed, ‘Wes, I am so messin' with you.’

Wesley gave an obvious sigh of relief, realising he had been played for a chump. He held his hand for a high five and Xander obliged, joining him in the laughter. Wesley shook his head ruefully.

‘I— Oh... No, I...’ was all that he could get out.

‘Come on,’ said Gunn, ‘Brother gets a dig in. That's my right.’ Wesley cleared his throat.

‘So you know…?’ he began.

‘ _Everybody_ knows,’ said Xander.

‘No secrets in the house of pain,’ Gunn snarked.

‘And... is that all right...with you? Fred and me?’ Wesley asked hesitantly. Gunn chuckled briefly.

‘Last year, you wouldn't ask me that question,’ The man becomes civilized. It's cool. Our thing's long done, and I know how you feel about her.’ Xander felt like he was missing some crucial history.

‘Thank you,’ Wesley said graciously. Gunn leant back into his chair.

‘And to add the necessary boilerplate,’ he said casually, ‘You ever hurt her, I'm gonna kill ya like a chicken.’

There was a slight pause.

‘Acceptable terms.’

For the next five minutes the three discussed the whereabouts of Lindsey McDonald. Gunn and his team had been able to track down where he _was._ He had been living in a cheap flat under the name ‘Doyle.’ All of his possessions were still there; he clearly hadn't planned the little ‘holiday’ the Senior Partners sent him on.

‘So are we going to tell Angel?’ asked Xander, checking up on the cliff notes of Lindsay's interactions with Angel. He had never actually met the man so he felt the extra research was warranted.

‘Better you than me,’ said Gunn, ‘I ain't going in there.’

‘Why?’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_After a week had passed, Kioni trusted Xander enough to tell him her story. Unfortunately, he wasn't at all surprised by what he heard, he had already guess most of it and the parts he didn't think weren't shocking. Well, actually they were shocking, just not surprising. It also confirmed his suspicions regarding the corpses that had been torn apart. It appeared that if you took a girl, passed her around to be raped by your buddies, make her clean and cook for you; and if that girl wakes up one morning a Slayer, then she would be – quite understandably – full of violent retribution._

_She knew where the soldiers were camped and she wanted to kill them._

_Renée had argued immediately against such a brutal path. She said that they were Slayers, not vigilantes. They slayed monsters._

‘ _Then that's what we're gonna do,’ he said to her shock, ‘We're gonna slay some monsters.’_

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Angel's Office_ **

They could hear the yelling all the way from Harmony's desk. While saying a quick hello and stealing a kiss on the cheek, Xander asked her what was happening. ‘Beat's me,’ she said, shrugging, ‘They've been going at it for a good half hour at least.’ Xander looked at Wesley and gulped.

‘What do you think?’ he asked, ‘Are we brave enough?’ Wesley looked him in the eye.

‘I think you are,’ he said before shoving him through the door. He was greeted by the sight of both Angel and Spike, on their feet, angrily yelling across the room at each other.

‘It's bollocks, Angel!’ said Spike dismissively, ‘It's your brand of bollocks from the first to last.’ Angel sighed theatrically.

‘No, you can't ever see the big picture,’ he retorted, ‘You can't see _any_ picture!’ He threw his hands up in exasperation.

‘I am talking about something primal,’ Spike said, ‘Right? Savagery. Brutal animal instinct.’

‘And that wins out every time with you,’ said Angel, rolling his eyes in disbelief. He walked right up to his descendent and looked him dead in the eye. ‘You know, the human race has evolved, Spike!’ Spike took a step so that they were almost nose to nose.

‘Oh, into a bunch of namby-pamby, self-analysing wankers who could never hope to—.’ Spike passionately began before his sire cut him off.

‘We're bigger. We're smarter,’ listed Angel, ‘Plus, there's a thing called teamwork, not to mention the superstitious terror of your pure aggressors!’

‘You just want it to be the way you want it to be!’ spat Spike.

‘It's not about what I want!’ he bit back. Emotions were clearly running high.

‘And then they kiss,’ said Xander, finally drawing attention to themselves. Both vampires looked at the newcomer. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘It's obvious the sexual tension is reaching breaking point, why not give into it?’ Spike and Angel looked horrified at the thought. ‘What's going on?’ he asked.

‘It was mostly…’ stammered Angel, ‘Theoretical. We...’ He turned to Spike.

‘We were just working out a b—,’ he said calmly before just getting to the point, ‘Look, if cavemen and astronauts got into a fight, who would win?’ Xander's eyebrows rose dramatically.

‘Seriously?’ he asked crossing his arms, ‘You guys have been arguing for almost an hour over something that simple? Obviously the spacemen would win, not even a question.’

‘Thank you,’ said Angel before facing Spike, ‘See? _He_ agrees with me.’

‘Doesn't mean anything,’ said Spike, ‘Of course Harris would think that, big sci-fi nerd he is.’

‘I’m just keeping objective about it.'

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Science Lab_ **

Fred gazed at the sarcophagus, wondering why on Earth someone thought that she should have it. Knox worked at his desk nearby. ‘I couldn't find any invoice on it,’ he said by way of explanation, ‘I thought maybe you went crazy on eBay. She laughed at the recollection.

‘No. No eBay,’ she said definitively, ‘After that commemorative plate incident, I'm living clean. Did you run a spectral analysis?’ He nodded in response.

‘Yeah,’ he answered, ‘Everything's bouncing off it, which doesn't thrill me.

‘Yeah,’ she agreed, ‘Let's not be hasty about opening it. It's probably just a mummy. Knox shuddered.

‘Mummies can be a lot more trouble than you think,’ he suddenly looked her in the eye and changed his tone, ‘And you're seeing Wesley now.’ She shifted uncomfortably.

‘Uh... Oh. OK. That's not connected to mummies in some way...’ she began awkwardly before he cut her off.

No, I just wanted to get it out there,’ with sincerity, ‘And I'm totally good with it. I—I know that I've made... advances.’ She shrugged.

‘I'm sorry,’ she said.

‘No, I— I didn't want to make you uncomfortable,’ he said, ‘I love working with you, and that's plenty for me.’ She smiled at him.

‘You're sweet,’ she said. He grinned in response.

‘You want me to get our HazMat's on this baby?’ he asked, back to work. She nodded vigorously.

‘Yeah, and see about where it came from,’ she instructed. Knox exited the lab, leaving Fred there alone to inspect the sarcophagus. She stared at the end of it where the iris was located. She reached out tentatively toward one of the crystals that decorated the surface. Slowly, gently, she touched her fingertips to a purple crystal, and before she could react, the iris opened, letting out a gust of air right into her face. Fred gasped and stepped back, coughing. Knox rushed back into the lab.

‘What happened!?’ he asked urgently. She spluttered.

‘I don't know,’ she said, breathing deeply, ‘It opened, and there was air.’

‘Are you OK?’ he asked gently.

‘Uh, I think so,’ she responded, staring at the sarcophagus, ‘That was odd.’ She stared at the box intently before retching and throwing up.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_The plan was simple; they would wait until nightfall and then, wearing masks, form hiding clothes and turbans, creep into the compound and then, using ice picks and knives, they would execute every single soldier in the compound. While moving from shadow to shadow, Xander kept thinking that something would go wrong._

_It didn't._

_In fact, this was the only plan that he could think of where absolutely went right._

_They crept into the compound and killed everyone inside. No one saw them, no one screamed and no one stopped them._

_In less than thirty minutes they killed almost two hundred men._

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Lobby_ **

Fred descended the stairs into the lobby, tightly holding onto the railing, still feeling weak after her dizzy spell in the lab. Word of Angel and Spike's argument had spread and nearly everyone had their own opinion on who would win. ‘But that doesn't make any sense,’ she said to Lorne, who had accompanied her to the sick bay.

‘I just call it like I see it,’ he responded ambivalently. She shook her head.

‘But the cavemen have fire,’ she said, ‘That's what they live with in their caves. The astronauts should at least have some sort of weapon.’ Her eyes brightened when she Wesley and Xander coming up to meet them. ‘Hey there,’ she said brightly. He smiled at her in response. Xander rolled his eyes at the positively _sickening_ levels of affection that the pair was generating.

‘I was just on my way to thinking of an excuse to come and see you,’ said Wesley. Xander snorted.

‘He's not joking,’ he said, ‘He was actually brainstorming.’ He shook his head. ‘Where are you coming from?’ he asked her.

‘Oh, medical,’ she said by way of explanation, ‘I breathed some old mummy dust. Had to make sure I didn't discover any new germs.’

‘Are you alright,’ asked Wesley, not bothering to disguise the concern in his voice.

‘They shooed me right off,’ she said reassuringly, ‘Mummy free.’

‘Good,’ he said, ‘I was hoping to take you out tomorrow night, and I don't feature you wrapped in bandages.’

‘Take me out where?’ she asked, grinning widely.

‘Can it be a secret?’ he replied.

‘Oh sheesh,’ said Lorne, stepping between the two, ‘Get a balcony, you two.’ Xander put his arm around the demon's shoulder.

‘See?’ he said, ‘Lorne gets me.’ Fred chuckled a little before continuing on back to the lab.

‘You'll still find me for lunch, though, right?’ she asked Lorne over her shoulder.

‘I'll just look where the sun shines,’ he called back before bursting into song, ‘ _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..._ ’ Fred turned to Wesley and sang to him.

‘ _You make me happy_ ,’ she sang sweetly. Despite the friendly atmosphere, Lorne suddenly reacted violently; he turned to her, his blood red eyes staring straight at the girl with undisguised horror. She looked at him for the briefest of moments before spluttering up blood, a torrent of red showering Xander's face. She fell down the stairs only for Wesley to catch her and gently lower her.

‘Get medical,’ he asked of nobody in particular. When no-one reacted, too shocked at the horrible sight, he got louder. ‘Someone get medical _NOW!_ ’ Xander rubbed his hand over his face and looked at the sticky crimson covering his hand.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

‘ _This isn't what Slayers are supposed to be,’ said Renée angrily, ‘I can almost,_ almost, _understand what we did last month but we are not assassins.’_

‘ _You're called_ Slayers _,’ retorted Xander, ‘You don't get to act like you're above fighting.’_

‘ _This isn't fighting,’ she snapped, ‘This is a pre-emptive attack on a_ human _group.’_

‘ _They barely qualify as human,’ he said cynically._

‘ _They have_ souls _,’ she said, stressing the last word._

‘ _And look at what they do with them.’_

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: The Med Bay_ **

Fred weakly looked up from the hospital bed she was lying in. Wesley, Xander, Lorne, Angel, Gunn, Spike and Knox were all crowding around her with looks of concern etched into their faces. ‘It's my boys,’ she said wearily, ‘I haven't had this many big, strapping men at my bedside since that night with the varsity lacrosse team.’ No one laughed. ‘That was a joke,’ she added. Lorne shook his head.

‘Well, you sure gave us all a big scare, Freddles,’ he said kindly.

‘Yeah, you just need to rest,’ said Angel gently, ‘The lab is doing some blood work.’ Fred frowned.

‘I'm a mummy, aren't I?’ she asked.

‘Impossible,’ declared Xander, ‘The only mummy I ever saw was _way_ hotter.’ She scoffed.

‘Seriously?’ she asked, ‘I can't catch a break, even when I'm sick?’ He laughed.

‘Just letting you know you're _not_ a mummy,’ he said, ‘You are Fred.’ She groaned in exasperation.

‘Now y'all are being too comforting,’ she said, calling them on their bullshit, ‘What's really up?’ Gunn shrugged.

‘You're sick, and you're making it worse by worrying,’ he said.

‘We've got that sarcophagus under the scope,’ said Knox helpfully, ‘If it gave you anything, we'll isolate it in a few hours.’ _Uh-oh._

‘So, you don't know what it is?’ she asked.

‘Yet,’ said Angel with conviction.

‘OK,’ she replied, unconvinced.

‘We're gonna work this,’ he said reassuringly, ‘Shouldn't take long.’

‘Handsome man saves me,’ she said, remembering that day in Pylea. The day her life started again. He chuckled, sharing the memory.

‘That's how it works,’ he said before turning to the others, ‘Let's get cracking.’ He led the others out of the room leaving only her and Wesley remaining. Xander hung back in the door frame.

‘'Let's get cracking,'‘ he said, imitating Angel's voice, ‘He's such an old fogy.’ She took hold of Wesley's hand. ‘I know you have to be book man.’

‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘Just hit that line—I'll be here in a heartbeat.’ She chuckled humourlessly.

‘Assuming I still have one,’ she said darkly.

‘Hush,’ he said before kissing her on the forehead. As he passed through the doorway, Xander patted him on the shoulder and said, ‘She's going to be okay.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_Xander leapt behind the wall as a hail of bullets passed over where he had just been standing. He returned fire but, given that he was using a pistol against assault rifles, he was clearly at a disadvantage._

_He had led the Slayers against a mercenary band that had been terrorising the local and the mission had been, for the most part, successful. What was less successful was the fact that two of the mercenaries had not been with the group during the attack and were now out for revenge. They had attacked Xander when he was alone, walking by an abandoned farmstead with the sun going down. He had only survived the initial attack because he saw their guns reflected the dying sunlight. He frantically reached for his phone and dialled Renée._

‘ _Yes,’ she answered after the third dial._

‘ _Renée,’ he said quickly, ‘I'm under attack. I'm at the abandoned farm we passed yesterday.’_

‘ _We're on our way,’ she said calmly, ‘How many are there?’_

‘ _Just two of them,’ he said before firing two rounds at his attackers._

‘ _We'll be there in five minutes, just hold out til then.’_

‘ _I'll make a special point of it,’ he said before hanging up. He looked behind him and could see the big barn, no more than fifty metres away. He could make that distance. Right? If he could make it, he could head for the storm cellar right on the other side, he had already seen that the doors were wide open so he wouldn't have any trouble with that._

_He only had four shots left and a single hand grenade so it was really a moot point. He had no choice. He waited for them to reload and then he sprinted for the relative safety the barn offered._

_He made forty metres before the firing resumed. A bullet grazed him but he was saved due to the body armour he wore. He had taken it from one of the soldiers he had murdered. One of the soldiers these men were trying to avenge. Life loved its little ironies. He was able to stumble the rest of the way before leaping inside. He heard the sound of a motorcycle engine from outside and, for a second, he thought it was Renée but he immediately dismissed the thought. There was no way she could have got there so soon. He glanced outside and his suspicions were confirmed. There was now a_ third _guy shooting at him. He swore as he avoided a bullet to the face and retreated to the higher level, essentially stalling for time. He knew that if they were smart they would just keep shooting at the barn, it wasn't exactly bullet proof._

_Luckily for him, these guys were not smart. They were angry and pissed as Hell. They wanted to actually watch the bastard that killed their friends die. They moved forward and he edged towards the other side. He looked down, out of the window, and he could see the cellar so deceptively far away. Could he jump for it? Nah, he'd be too injured from the fall and he'd be entirely at their mercy._

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Lobby_ **

The others were waiting down the stairs for Wesley and Xander and the pair hurried to meet them. ‘How's she handling it?’ Angel asked them.

‘She's smarter than all of us put together,’ said Wesley gravely, ‘She knows it's bad.’

‘What is it anyway?’ asked Xander. Knox shrugged.

‘Haven't a clue,’ he said, ‘Whatever she's got, it doesn't match up with any of the pathogens in our archives. It's mystical, and it's not ours.’ Angel nodded.

‘What about the sarcophagus?’ he asked, turning to Wesley.

‘My team is cross-checking the symbols, but it's also new territory for us,’ he explained.

‘Angel, what exactly is happening to her?’ asked Gunn, echoing Xander, ‘You talked to the doctor—.’ Wesley immediately interrupted him.

‘They have something?’ he asked pointedly. Angel looked evasive.

‘Yeah, I, uh,’ he began, clearly not sure on what to say, ‘Some parasitic agent is working its way through. I mean, as near as they can tell...’

‘Get to the point,’ he snapped. Angel sighed before speaking.

‘Her organs are cooking,’ he said bluntly, ‘In a day's time, they'll liquefy.’

‘I'm not accepting that,’ said Xander. Spike nodded vigorously in agreement. Angel turned to Wesley in desperation.

‘Look, Wes, you gotta tell me what was in that box,’ he said urgently, ‘I need a name, a history, anything.’ Knox spoke up.

‘We can't get it open,’ he said quickly, ‘Not even the lasers—.’ Wesley, again, interrupted

‘Where did it come from?’ he demanded.

‘It just showed up,’ said Knox, ‘No return address. Didn't recognize the guy who brought it in—come to think of it, in the middle of the night.’

‘She was targeted,’ said Xander with a tone of realisation.

‘Who'd want to take out Fred?’ asked Lorne, ‘Senior partners?’ Gunn shook his head in response.

‘Doesn't add up, but I'll hit the White Room,’ he said, ‘Talk to the conduit.’

‘Now, look, if the senior partners didn't do this, you gotta get them to help us,’ said Angel. _And I just realise how stupid that sounded once I said it out loud._

‘Any way I can,’ said Gunn. Spike spoke up.

‘What about Doyle—uh, Lindsey?’ he asked, ‘The man likes to play his games.’ Angel considered that.

‘I was looking to work the streets, and we've got his address,’ he said, ‘For all we know, he's probably sitting there laughing. And if there's muscle work to do...’

‘Let's make it twice as fast,’ finished Spike.

‘And baby makes three—in case anybody feels like singing,’ said Lorne, for once looking positively dangerous. Angel nodded.

‘Good,’ he said, before addressing them all, ‘Guys...’ he began.

‘You don't have to say it,’ said Wesley.

‘I'll say it anyway,’ he replied, ‘Winifred Burkle. Go.’

Together, they moved to save the save the one person that they _all_ cared for, the one thing that they truly had in common.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_They had entered the building, slowly, taking their time. One of them fired up, the shoot narrowly missing him. He scrambled away but the noise drew the attention of the other two and they all fired up at their ceiling/his floor. Taking a risk, he leant over the railing and shot one of them right through the small gap in the neck armour, hitting him right in the throat. He collapsed to the ground, making a horrible gurgling, choking sound. Three shots left and two bad guys now ascending the stairs._

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: Wesley's office_ **

Wesley and Xander were tearing through everything that could possible hold a clue to Fred's condition. ‘What about this?’ asked Xander, ‘The ‘Old Ones.’ I remember a bit about them. Basically the first life on Earth.’

‘Yes I know what they are, _get to the point,_ ’ snapped Wesley angrily. ‘I'm sorry,’ he said, making a visible effort at calming down, ‘What about the Old Ones?’

‘Well,’ said Xander, ignoring the outburst, we know that they were imprisoned in sarcophaguses. Look at the pictures.’ He held the book open to Wesley and he could see that, whilst not an exact duplicate, there were certain similarities in the design.

‘Alright,’ he said, ‘We'll work that angle.’

Their reading was interrupted by a lawyer putting his head through the doorway.

‘I'm sorry to interrupt,’ he said unapologetically, ‘I just need to know if the Holbine Clan history was here. It was supposed to be faxed to my office.’ He ignored the stony stare Xander was giving him.

‘It can wait,’ said Wesley curtly, not even looking up from his reading. The lawyer shook his head in exasperation.

‘These guys are really important,’ he said, ‘I just need— I mean, the whole company can't be working Miss Burkle's case.’ To his surprise, Wesley nodded in agreement.

‘Of course,’ he said courteously before pulling out a gun and shooting him in the knee. Xander's eye widened in shock.

_Xander made himself as flat as he could, using the bike as cover. Moments later the shots started. Some were too short, others were to long but a few managed to hit the bike. One actually passed through its metal framework and hit him in the gut. He couldn't scream, it was all he could do to let out a weak grunt of pain._

He shook his head, he didn't have time for a flashback but he couldn't stop the wound in his stomach from flaring up. The crack of the gun had triggered a sort of psychogenic reaction and he was having some difficulty in controlling it.

A secretary, brought in by the unexpected noise, stared open mouthed at the sight of the gun and wounded man. Wesley turned to her.

‘Jennifer,’ he said in a frightening calm voice, ‘Please send anyone else who isn't working Miss Burkle's case to me.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_He could hear the sounds of their boots on the stairs and knew that he had six seconds at most. He looked down at his belt and he thought of something desperate._ Why not? Worst case scenario is that I die. Big whoop. _He reached for the hand grenade and pulled the pin._

5 seconds

_He could he the helmet of the first man._

4 seconds

_He was now up on the same level as him._

3 seconds

_Xander threw the grenade whilst the soldier levelled his weapon. The helmet of the second man was now visible._

2 seconds

_The man fired his gun whilst Xander leapt backwards for the window._

1 second

_The bullet hit him straight the chest, knocking the wind right out of him. He continued to fall backwards._

0 seconds.

Explosion.

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: Wesley's office_ **

They were all again in Wesley's office. Angel, Spike and Lorne had been able to determine firm that Lindsay was definitely not involved. They did, however, bump into Eve who did confirm Xander's hunch. They called ahead and Wesley had discovered just what was killing Fred.

‘It's called Illyria,’ explained Wesley, ‘A great monarch and warrior of the demon age murdered by rivals and left adrift in the Deeper Well.’

‘Which is what?’ asked Angel.

‘A burial ground,’ answered Xander, ‘Sort of a place where they put all of the remaining Old Ones to rest.’

‘This one ain't restin',’ stated Gunn. Wesley shook his head.

‘No,’ he said, ‘I don't think this is merely an infection. Fred's skin is...hardening like a shell. I think she's being hollowed out so this thing can use her to gestate, to claw its way back into the world. That's speculation. Either way, she dies.’ They all let that statement sink in.

‘Do we have any chance of finding this Deeper Well?’ asked Angel.

‘I already have,’ said Wesley, ‘It's in England, in the Cotswolds. That's the location, to the inch.’ Angel nodded, finally having something to work with.

‘Lorne,’ he said, ‘Tell Harmony to prep the jet. We can be there in ten hours.’

‘You can be there in four,’ said Knox quickly. Everybody looked at him. ‘We have really good jets,’ he said, almost sounding embarrassed.

‘If this thing is like any other mystical place,’ said Xander, ‘It's gonna have a guardian or some sort of defences.’ Spike snorted derisively.

‘Let 'em send an army,’ he declared fiercely.

‘How do we know goin' there's gonna do squat?’ asked Gunn.

‘The Deeper Well is almost like a prison for the dead,’ Wesley explained, ‘If something gets out, it's written it can be drawn back from the source.’

‘That's our shot,’ said Angel.

‘We'll keep working here,’ said Wesley, putting a hand on Xander's shoulder, ‘But, yes, I think it is.’

‘If nobody thinks it's too ridiculous,’ said Lorne, ‘I'm going to pray. Wesley almost smiled.

‘No, it's appreciated,’ he said kindly, ‘Time is not on our side.’

‘Nobody's on our side,’ said Spike.

‘Come on,’ said Angel, ‘Let's save the day.’ Angel and Spike strode off to the motor pool and Gunn and Lorne headed back to their offices. Xander had seen the reports and the texts and he suddenly knew that they were being naïve. They could not save Fred.

However, he might just know something that could.

‘Find Fred,’ he said to Wesley, ‘I'll catch up in a minute. There's just one more thing I'm going to check.’

‘Alright,’ said Wesley, looking drained but still determined.

Xander watched him leave and exhaled.

He knew what he had to do.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Several Months Ago_ **

**_Somewhere in Africa_ **

_Renée and the other Slayers looked throughout the wreckage of the barn. They found three bodies; one shot in the throat and burned and the other two were charred beyond recognition. She sighed sadly, she knew saving him was a long shot but… she held out for hope._

_She brushed away the tears that were forming around her eyes and told the group that they had to leave before anyone was drawn to them by the smoke._

**~o~O~o~**

**_Eighteen hours later_ **

_Xander violently coughed, spluttering himself awake. He could feel every inch of his body, his arms were burned and he was quite certain that one of his legs was broken._

_The force of the explosion had hurled him into the storm cellar but it had also collapsed the entrance, burying him and hiding him from sight._

_He was hurt and damaged but he was still alive._

**~o~O~o~**

**_The Present Day_ **

**_Location: Empty Meeting Room_ **

Xander hesitated for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the cellular phone that Harmony had bought him the previous week. Was this a good idea, was the number even valid still? The image of Fred suddenly appeared in his head, burning into his brain and he knew that he had no choice.

He owed her everything that he was.

He dialled the number and put the phone to his ear.

_Ring!_

_Ring!_

_Ring!_

‘Hello?’

He was silent for a moment before speaking.

‘Hi Willow,’ he said, ‘It's Xander. I need your help.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Heathrow Airport_ **

‘Now you'll be careful won't you?’ asked Giles, whilst giving Willow a big hug.

‘I'll be fine Giles,’ she said warmly, ‘Two weeks at the Himalayas; what could happen? Besides’ she said, putting her arm around Kennedy, ‘I have this tall, dark and sexy Slayer to look after me.

‘You take care of her,’ sad Giles, also giving the young Slayer a hug, ‘And take care of yourself while you're at it.’

‘I'll do my best sir,’ she said with a mock salute. He sighed theatrically.

‘Kennedy,’ he said, ‘Why do you keep calling me sir when you know it annoys me and makes me feel old.’ She raised her eyebrows in shock.

‘Good golly,’ she said, ‘You just asked and answered your own question.’

‘ _Don't stop… Beleeeevin,_

_Hold on to that feeeeeeeelin’_

Willow reached for her phone.

‘Nice ringtone,’ said Giles, ‘It's a classic.’

‘Don't know this number,’ she said before answering it. ‘Hello?’ she said hesitantly. Giles couldn't hear what the caller said but it made Willow's eyes widen in complete and utter shock. She lowered the phone and quietly said, ‘Cancel the flight please.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Empty Meeting Room_ **

She still hadn't said anything. He knew the call hadn't been disconnected because he didn't hear a dial tone but she wouldn't say anything. ‘Are you still there?’ he asked before immediately wincing. Despite the seriousness of the situation, even he knew that was _definitely_ the wrong thing to say.

‘ _Six months,_ ’ she said slowly, methodically and coldly. ‘ _Six months and you only call to ask for my help. Do you honestly think that there is_ anything _you could say that will stop me from hanging up right now?_ ’

‘Fred is dying.’

‘ _Winifred?_ ’ she said, the venom from her voice evaporating like snow in the desert, ‘ _From Angel's group?_ ’

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘I'm in L.A. She's going to die in less than a day unless she gets help. I know you don't owe me anything but _please_ don't punish her for what I did.’

More silence.

‘ _I can be there in a few minutes,_ ’ she said finally.

‘Thank you.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Heathrow Airport_ **

‘I can be there in half an hour,’ said Willow before listening to the response and hanging up.

‘What is it?’ asked Giles, ‘What came up?’ There were tears forming in her eyes. Kennedy reached for her but Willow pulled away abruptly.

‘Honey, what's wrong?’ she asked, concerned. Willow took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

‘Xander's alive,’ she said, ‘He's in Los Angeles.’

‘What?’ demanded Giles, ‘How…? What?’

‘I haven't got time to explain,’ she said, ‘I'll teleport over there but you two will have to fly. I don't think I have enough energy to take passengers across that kind of distance and it’ll take me days to recharge.’ Kennedy nodded.

‘I'll see if there are any last minute cancellations or something,’ she said, hurrying off the customer service desk.

‘I don't understand,’ said Giles, ‘How is he alive… and why hadn't he tried to contact us?’

‘I don't know,’ she answered before fading away.

_But he better have a damn good explanation._

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Empty Meeting Room_ **

Xander stood completely still. He knew that he just officially passed the point of no return; Willow was coming. And if Willow was coming, it was a fair bet that the others would not be that far behind. Dawn would be pissed, that much was certain and, aside from Willow, she was the person he was most sorry for hurting. Andrew would probably just be happy; Xander could honestly say that he's never seen the boy angry. As for Buffy and Giles… well, he'd deal with it as it came.

The thought of Harmony randomly floated through his head. Just thinking about their possible reactions to that little piece of information made him chuckle slightly. Ever little encounter between her and the group came rushing in and, before long, he was laughing hysterically. It was inappropriate but his emotions were so wired he didn’t know how to stop.

‘I'm glad to see that you're in such a good mood,’ said a voice from behind him. Xander had absolutely no magical ability whatsoever; magic and he were two things that _never_ got on with each other. Yet, he was sure, with absolutely no shadow of a doubt, that he knew what was going to happen next.

‘Incoming,’ he muttered briefly before being proven right.

_WHACK!_

Willow was clearly not an expert in hitting people. He actually could have avoided the blow the angry little witch threw at him if he wanted to but he decided against it. Clearly she needed to get it out of her system. He did, however, roll with the punch so she didn't hurt her hand.

‘I suppose I deserved that,’ he said when she was done, ‘So uh, how have you been?’

_WHACK!_

‘Okay,’ he said while massaging his cheek, ‘Clearly that was too soon. So yeah, I'm alive and you can spend the next week punching me into oblivion if you want but, right now as in this _very_ second, Fred is dying. She doesn't have time for us to do this.’ Her furious expression softened just a bit.

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘I'll see what I can do.’

‘It's all I can ask,’ he replied simply. She looked at him angrily, noting the extra scars on his face, the cane he was leaning on and…

‘You grew a beard?’ she asked incredulously. His hand instinctively reached for his chin. There was some noticeably thick stubble.

‘Huh?’ he said, ‘I suppose I have. Funny, didn't really notice it.’ Back to reality. ‘Fred,’ he said, ‘We need to help Fred.’ She nodded before looking around.

‘By the way,’ she said, ‘Where are we? I came here through from where you were calling but…?’

_Oh._

‘About that,’ he began, knowing she probably wasn't going to like the answer.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Science Lab_ **

Fred collapsed against the lab table as a splinter of fire tore through her stomach all the way up to here head. She clutched her head with one hand while using the other to support herself up against the bench.

Seeing this, Wesley immediately rushed to her side and pulled her to her feet.

‘Fred, you can't be doing this,’ he said gently. She roughly pushed him off and determinedly marched over to a desk.

‘Please, Wesley,’ she said harshly, ‘I am exactly the person to be doing this. Something could've been missed.’ She held her head as another spike of pain raced through it.

‘Whatever it is that's happening, we will stop it, I swear to you,’ he said, reaching for her again but she brushed him off with a shaking hand.

‘I have to work,’ she said, trying to focus her eyes on the report.

‘You have to lie down,’ he said. _Why wouldn't she listen to reason?_

‘You know,’ said a voice, ‘Sometimes Wesley really knows what he's talking about.’ Wesley turned around and saw Xander stride into the lab like he owned the place. He was confident, that was new; Xander being confident. Wesley saw the reason why follow him into the lab.

‘Willow,’ he said in astonishment, ‘What are you…’ He rapidly turned to Xander. ‘You called her?’ he asked quietly.

‘Yeah,’ said Xander, nodding.

‘But you're dead, you said… Thank you,’ he said, more grateful than anyone had ever been. Willow noted the exchange silently. _Not the time, attend to the matter at hand._ She walked over to Fred and gently took he from Wesley's embrace and lowered her to the floor.

‘What happened?’ she asked seriously.

‘She's been infected with the essence of an Old One called Illyria,’ said Xander, ‘It's taking her over.’

‘An Old One?’ she asked in horror, ‘I don't know what good I'm going to be,’ she said sadly, ‘They're old… An entirely different type of magic.’

‘You don't have to stop it,’ said Xander, ‘Can you just slow it down for a bit? Angel and Spike are headed to the source but she might not last until then.’

‘Spike's alive too?’ she asked suddenly. _Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Whoops._ ‘Never mind,’ she snapped, ‘Later. Okay,’ she said, examining the still conscious Fred, ‘I might be able to delay it slightly. But it is going to take a _lot_ out of me as well as her.’

‘Anything you can do is good,’ said Wesley.

‘Alright,’ she said with conviction, ‘I need to concentrate so don't disturb me unless it's necessary,’ she instructed. ‘Here we go,’ she muttered under her breath before placing her hands on either side of Fred's skull. Mercifully, she was rendered unconscious by the spell and the pain in her head ceased to bother her.

‘I'm gonna call Angel and let him know what's happening here,’ said Xander, heading for the exit. Wesley grabbed his arm and stopped him briefly

‘I know what calling her means for you,’ he said before Xander cut him off.

‘It was never a question,’ said Xander, ‘It was Fred.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Private Jet_ **

Spike fidgeted uncomfortably as he did his best to avoid looking out the window. They were _very_ high up. He kept fiddling with the seatbelt and playing with the buckle, repeatedly pulling at it.

‘Can you knock it off?’ said Angel irritably.

‘I've never flown before,’ said Spike defensively. Angel was going to retort when the plane's phone rang. Spike looked at hi quizzically.

‘Who'd be calling us here?’ asked Spike.

‘Maybe the guys found something new,’ Angel replied before picking it up. ‘Angel speaking,’ he answered.

‘ _Angel, it's me Xander,_ ’ replied the caller, ‘ _We've managed to slow down the infection rate._ ’

‘How the hell did you do that?’ he asked.

‘Who is it?’ asked Spike.

‘Xander,’ said Angel, ‘Xander, I'm putting you on speaker. Okay, again, how did you slow the infection down?’

‘ _Willow,_ ’ he answered simply.

‘But I thought you said that they thought you were dead,’ Angel said.

‘ _Everyone keeps saying that today,_ ’ said Xander irritably, ‘ _Yes I called her. Spike, she knows you're alive so you're probably gonna want to think about what you're planning on telling Buffy if she finds out._ ’

‘Thanks for the heads up Harris,’ said Spike. Angel grimaced as he remembered that Buffy and Spike had also been involved. But she kissed him when he saved her from Caleb and gave the cookie dough speech and… Enough of that, back to work.

‘Okay,’ said Angel, ‘We'll call you with an update when we land. Should be little over an hour.’

‘ _Alright,_ ’ said Xander, ‘ _I'm gonna check in with Knox and Gunn and see what they've found. I'll let you know when you call back.’_

‘Good to know,’ said Angel, ‘And Xander?’

‘ _Yeah?_ ’

‘Thank you.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Heathrow Airport_ **

Kennedy rushed back to Giles. ‘I can't get anything until tomorrow evening,’ she said apologetically, ‘I'm sorry.’

‘It's quite alright,’ he said, ‘It's not your fault.’ She wondered if it would be appropriate to put a hand on his shoulder. They weren't that close and really the only reason she ever spent time with him was because he was Willow's friend and her instructor. _Ah to hell with it._ After all, she always went with her first impressions; it was just how she rolled.

‘How are you holding up?’ she asked, ‘Hell of a bombshell Will just dropped on you.’

‘Still in shock,’ he said, ‘Ask me again in an hour and I'll probably have a better answer.’

‘Do you want to just sit in silence for a bit?’ she asked him softly.

‘That would be nice, thank you,’ he said.

He didn't however tell her to remove the hand from his shoulder.

_It's a start I suppose,_ she thought to herself.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Science Lab_ **

‘Okay,’ said Willow, ‘I'm done for a bit. I've slowed the infection down to a crawl. You now have two days as opposed to one.’

‘How is she?’ asked Wesley.

‘Not great,’ said Willow, wiping away the beads of sweat forming on her face, ‘But in all honesty it could be _much_ worse.’

‘Well thanks for what you can do,’ he replied, ‘Every bit helps.’ She gently patted Fred on the shoulder and smiled.

‘She's strong Wesley,’ she said kindly, ‘If anyone has a shot of surviving this thing it's her.’ She looked at Wesley's fearful expression and looked at Fred. ‘Are you two…? Are you and her together now?’

‘Yes we are,’ he said in response. Despite the seriousness of the situation she smiled and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

‘So you finally got her,’ she said, ‘How long?’

‘Three weeks,’ he answered.

‘And…’ she asked, ‘Come on man, details.’

‘There's actually not that much to tell,’ he said, ‘We're dating even though we haven't actually had a single successful date yet. A monster or demon or something seems to happen at the last second.’

‘You'll get your chance,’ she said, ‘What kind of sadistic, soulless universe would it be otherwise.’ Wesley suddenly smiled slightly.

‘I know what you're doing,’ he said.

‘What's that?’ she asked innocently.

‘You're trying to take my mind off the bad parts by making me look at the good things.’

‘Is it working?’

‘A little bit,’ he admitted. The sat in silence for a while before he spoke again. ‘You've sat here with me for almost an hour and you haven't asked me about Xander once.’

‘Because I'm angry,’ she said intensely, ‘You should have told me. You should have told _us._ Giles has been a wreck for the past six months. He blames himself. Dawn puts up a strong front but Buffy tells me that she cries when she goes to bed. As for Buffy and me… _How do you think we would feel?_ Our best friend _died_.’ She shook her head slightly. ‘You should have told us,’ she repeated.

‘He asked me not to,’ Wesley replied, ‘Angel and I knew that he was ultimately hurting himself, doing what he did, but we wanted him to see it for himself not force the issue. When our paths crossed he was little more than an angry drunk with some talent for staying alive but in the past few months he has changed.’ He took a breath before continuing. ‘I was going to talk to him soon,’ he said, ‘But I wasn't going to force him into a situation he didn't want. I have too much respect for him to do that.’ He was quite unapologetic about the last part.

‘How's he been?’ she asked.

‘Do you mean if he's been eating his greens or what?’ he replied.

‘How is he?’ she asked, ‘You said he changed; how so?’

‘Well,’ said Wesley, ‘He has a job. He actually works for me as sort of assistant slash apprentice for lack of a better term. He has been a great asset to the team in several recent missions; he actually saved us all when we met him. There have been some low points but I've seen him build a life for himself here.’

‘What about the cane?’ she asked, ‘What's that about.’

‘He was shot a few weeks ago,’ he replied.

‘ _What?!_ ’ she exclaimed.

‘He's okay,’ he said quickly, ‘Provided he doesn't do anything dangerous like fighting for a while, he should make a full recovery. Tell me about Anya,’ he said suddenly.

‘Why do you want to know?’ she asked.

‘About a month ago I found him in this rundown pub,’ he said, ‘Drunk as a lord. I took him home and he suddenly burst into tears and when I asked him what was wrong he only said one word: her name. I don't even think he remembers the night, he was that out of it and he never mentioned it again. Spike said he had a fiancé but I think it's fair to say that she's not in the picture anymore, correct?’ She nodded sadly.

‘Anya died in the battle against the First,’ she said, ‘He didn't cope well.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to review


	8. Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team fights to save the life of Winifred Burkle but can it be done?

**_Location: Knox's Office_ **

The scene that Xander walked into was rather surprising. From what he could gather, it appeared that Gunn had tossed Knox into a desk, shattering it with the impact.

‘What's going on?’ he asked. Gunn pointed at Knox furiously.

‘He's in on it!’ he practically screamed, ‘He wants to kill Fred!’

‘ _What?!_ ’ asked Xander in a dangerously low voice. ‘Please repeat that.’

‘He's behind it!’

‘Well actually,’ said Knox casually, ‘I'm only part of it – _Ooomph!_ ’ Xander tackled him and shoved in into the floor.

‘How do we stop it?’ he hissed. Knox grinned pleasantly at him.

‘Well you don't,’ he replied.

_THUMP!_

‘I'm going to ask you again,’ said Xander, ‘And I _really_ want a better answer than that.’ Knox spat a tooth him.

_THUMP!_

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Science Lab_ **

‘She was that former Vengeance Demon who knew about the previous Ascension, right?’ Wesley asked. Willow nodded.

‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘That was her. To be perfectly honest I have absolutely no idea how they got together, they never told us.’

‘Did he ever see any non-demon girls?’ he asked.

‘Well there was Cordy,’ she said.

‘Who turned into a half demon,’ he replied. Wesley thought that mentioning Xander's whatever the hell you want call it thing with Harmony probably wouldn't go down very well. It wasn't his story to tell.

‘So come on,’ she pressed, ‘What's been happening? So far you've said a lot of words but you really haven't told me much. How has he been?’ Wesley looked her in the eye.

‘I really think you should ask him yourself,’ he said finally. ‘I don't want to talk behind his back.’

They both suddenly looked up as they heard a commotion outside the lab. They saw Xander violently dragging Knox into the room with Gunn following. ‘What's going on?’ Wesley asked loudly.

‘It's him,’ said Xander, ‘Knox is one of the people behind what happened to Fred.’

‘ _What?!_ ’ said Wesley in the same dangerous voice as his protégé. He got to his feet and grabbed Knox by the throat and shoved him into the wall. ‘How do we stop it?’ he demanded. Knox smiled, revealing his bloody teeth.

‘Even if I knew I wouldn't say,’ he said smugly. Wesley kneed him in the gut and was going to strike him again when Xander stopped him.

‘Wes,’ he said in a reasonable voice, ‘Fred is not going to thank you if you torture this guy.’ He turned back to Knox. ‘Now,’ he said before calmly pulling out a pistol and shooting him in the knee, ‘Tell us whatever you do know.’ Knox screamed and slid down to the floor, leaving a bloody, red line on the wall.

‘ _XANDER!’_ screamed Willow.

‘Not now, Will, Knox and I are trying to have a conversation,’ said Xander, still deathly calm. ‘Okay,’ he said, kneeling down so he was eye level with the wounded man, ‘Please tell me what you know.’ Despite the pain in his leg, his wordless whimpering and the tears in his eyes, Knox managed to shake his head. Xander rolled his eyes heavenwards. ‘I do _not_ have time for this,’ he said irritably. He pushed his hand into the wound and Knox suddenly fell silent, the pain was too intense to scream. ‘It's a little something I picked up in Brazil,’ explained Xander, ‘I was a guest of the police for about a week when I was there and they taught me all sorts of fun things. Like,’ he said, increasing the pressure on the wound, ‘where to apply the _teeniest_ amount of pressure to a wound like yours.’ Something in Knox's mind snapped. He moved beyond what he thought was the limit of pain and into some new level of agony. He regained the ability to scream and… he did scream. Loudly.

Willow looked on horrified. This was not the Xander she remembered.

‘Tell me what I want to know and it will stop,’ said Xander, not breaking eye contact with the unfortunate man. Knox shook his head.

‘ _Please!_ ’ he begged, ‘ _Stop! You're gonna kill me! Stop!_ ’

‘You have the power to make me stop,’ said Xander fiercely, ‘ _Just tell me what I need to know!_ ’ He pulled out the gun and pointed it right at his temple. ‘If you don't,’ he said before lowering it so that the hot tip of the weapon was touching the leg wound, ‘In ten seconds I'm gonna find a sharp object.’

‘ _Okay_ ,’ whispered Knox, ‘ _I'll tell you everything._ Anything. _Just make it stop._ ’

‘See?’ asked Xander pleasantly, ‘I knew you could be reasonable. Now, tell my friends everything.’ He rose to his feet. ‘I'm gonna go check in with Angel, it's been two hours since we talked, he has to know something.’ He looked down at Knox. ‘And,’ he added, ‘If they have any problem with you… Well, just remember that I will be coming back when I'm done. He's all yours Wes,’ he said before heading for the door. Willow followed him out into the hall and grabbed him by the shoulder spinning him around to face her.

‘What the hell was that?’ she demanded.

‘What?’ he responded, ‘I think I just got a breakthrough.’

‘You tortured him,’ she said, ‘What the hell happened to you?’

‘So we don't do torture?’ he asked.

‘No,’ she said, ‘We have to be better than –’

‘I'm getting the feeling Warren would disagree with that little sentiment,’ he said smirking, shutting her up.

‘You're nothing like the person I remember,’ she said, ‘The person I grew up with. The person who _saved_ me. What happened to him?’

‘He got his eye opened,’ he replied, ‘He learned that if you want something you do everything in your power to get it. He attended the funeral of the love of his life _alone_.’

‘Xander,’ she began, ‘I know I made mistakes but –.’

‘ _WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?!_ ’ he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth, ‘ _Where were_ you?’ Willow was speechless. What could she say?

‘I'm sorry,’ she said tearfully, ‘I screwed up I admit it but you made us think you were dead. I mourned you, Dawn was hysterical for months and Giles…’

‘Yeah?’ asked Xander, ‘What about Giles?’

‘It nearly broke him,’ she said. He laughed derisively. ‘What?’ she demanded, ‘What's so funny?’

‘Oh just the thought him caring,’ he snorted, ‘That man is incapable of feeling anything other than disdain.’

She went to slap him again as soon as the words left his mouth but he caught her wrist in his hand and squeezed tightly. ‘Is that just your default setting now?’ he asked, leaning against the wall, ‘Slapping me in the face?’

‘He blamed himself for what happened,’ she said, ripping her hand out of his grasp, ‘He was depressed, he wasn't sleeping, he –.’

‘Yeah, join the club,’ retorted Xander, ‘That's been me for years but I just didn't bitch about it.’ He suddenly stopped, as if someone had found his ‘off’ button. He much older than his twenty-four years. He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. ‘I'm sorry,’ he said softly, ‘That wasn't at you, that was… There's just been some stuff over the past year and I shouldn't have taken it out on you.’ She knelt down next to him.

‘I'm sorry as well,’ she said, ‘You're right, I should have been there for you and, for what it's worth, I'm _really_ glad you're still alive.’

Then she hugged him. He was still for a few seconds before he realised what just happened.

She forgave him.

She was still his friend and she forgave him.

So he did the only reasonable thing he could do.

He hugged her back.

‘I missed you,’ he whispered.

‘Likewise,’ she said, ‘It's funny, I feel like I know you better now.’

‘How is Dawn?’ he asked.

‘She's okay,’ she said, ‘I'm not gonna lie though; she's going to be pissed when she hears the news and you'll need to work some serious damage control on that front.’

‘But how is she?’ he asked, ‘You said that –’

‘She's fine,’ she assured him, ‘It was bad but she got better.’

‘That's good,’ he said before shaking his head and rising to his feet. ‘I should really check in with Angel, he should be on the ground by now.’

‘Yeah,’ she said, also standing up, ‘You should… Oh… You should do that.’

‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I'm fine,’ she said before swooning and falling over. He quickly caught her in his arms before she hit the ground.

‘You're not okay,’ he said, ‘What's wrong?’

‘Jumping all the way across the pond was taxing,’ she said, ‘As was helping Fred. I'll be okay with rest.’

‘You sure?’ he asked. She nodded wearily. He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for Angel who picked up immediately.

‘Angel,’ said Xander, ‘It's me. Please tell me you have something.’ The only thing he heard in response was dead air. ‘Come on Angel,’ he said, ‘Don't leave me hanging here.’ He could hear the vampire sigh on the other end of the line.

‘ _Harris,_ ’ he said finally, ‘ _We can't save her._ ’

‘No,’ Xander responded, ‘I'm not accepting that. Tell me what the problem is. Maybe another head could think of something you missed. Come on,’ he pressed, hitting the speaker button so Willow could hear.

‘ _We found where the sarcophagus came from,_ ’ Angel said flatly, ‘ _There is a spell to summon it back from where it came. If we do that, Illyria's essence will be leeched from Fred and back into the Well._ ’

‘That's good isn't it,’ replied Xander, ‘So do that. What's stopping you?’

Long pause.

‘What's stopping you?’ he repeated.

‘ _If we do that,_ ’ Angel answered, ‘ _Illyria's spirit will pass through every person directly between L.A. and us. Saving Fred will kill hundreds of thousands of people._ ’

Xander wasn't even aware of him hitting the ‘end call’ button. It just happened he numbly walked back in the direction of the lab. Knox and Wesley looked up when he entered and they saw the pain on his face. Despite his recent torture, Knox still had the energy to grin smugly at him.

‘So you know,’ he said triumphantly.

‘Know what?’ asked Wesley, ‘What happened.’

‘There's nothing we can do,’ he said, defeated, ‘We've lost.’ Wesley, having been sustained with the hope Willow's arrival created, had nothing to say. He's face fell and cradled Fred's sleeping form while tears began to roll down his face.

‘Xander,’ said Willow, having just made it into the lab, ‘I'm sorry.’ She finally gave into the weariness and sat down at one of the desks. He looked at the assortment of scalpels and tools over on the bench.

‘No you're not,’ he said suddenly.

‘What?’ she said looking up. ‘What do you –?’ She was rendered speechless by what she saw.

Xander was smiling.

Not a bitter, defeated smile but an oh-my-God-I'm-brilliant smile. ‘What?’ she asked, ‘What did I miss?’ Xander ignored her and reached for his phone, calling Angel again, also hitting speaker.

‘I'm back,’ he said as soon as Angel picked up. ‘Angel,’ he said, ‘Ready the spell, I've got an idea.’

‘ _But we can't,_ ’ he said in a broken voice, ‘ _All those people –_ ’

‘Are going to be fine,’ interrupted Xander, ‘We're gonna do something that will take the collateral damage out of the equation. We'll send you a signal to let you know it's safe to cast the spell.’

‘ _What signal?_ ’

‘You won't miss it.’

‘ _Harris?_ ’ Angel asked, ‘ _Are you sure about this?_ ’

‘Do you trust me?’ Xander replied.

‘ _What?_ ’

‘Angel, do you trust me?’ he repeated.

‘ _Yes,_ ’ Angel responded finally, ‘ _Spike, tell Drogyn to start the spell but not to cast it until I give the word._ ’ Xander turned to Willow.

‘What about you?’ he asked, ‘I know I screwed up and lied but do you still trust me?’

‘Always,’ she said instantly. He grinned in response.

‘Okay, Angel,’ he said, ‘The problem is that if you take the sarcophagus back to where you are; everyone between it and Fred will die. Correct?’

‘ _Yes._ ’

‘Okay,’ he said, now on a roll, ‘So I think we should we should do something to make sure there's absolutely nothing between her and that thing when we leech it from her.’ Willow spoke up.

‘Xander,’ she said sadly, ‘I see where you're going with this but I don't have enough energy to jump both of us across the ocean. I couldn't even get myself out of the city in the state I'm in.’

‘That's okay,’ he said, ‘I know where there's plenty of energy just going to waste.’

‘Absolutely not,’ she said quickly, ‘Xander, please, it's too risky.’ He laughed at her gently.

‘Oh, Will,’ he said gently, ‘I missed the part where I gave you a choice.’ With that he grabbed one of the scalpels from the bench and used it to slice open his own hand. He then strode over to her and grabbed her hand, slapping her palm over the bloody cut. She tried to pull away but his grip was too strong.

Wesley and Gunn watched in horrified fascination as the colour rushed from Xander's skin and changed into a translucent yellow-grey.

Willow's skin was doing something different: it was becoming brighter and her skin was moving as though whipped by a fierce gale.

‘Xander, please stop,’ she begged but despite the physical transformation he was undergoing, he still managed to maintain his grip. ‘ _Please._ ’ He looked her in the eye.

‘Make this work,’ he whispered, ‘Please do not let this go to waste.’ He smiled the same cocky smile he wore when he was back in Sunnydale. For a single, precious second, he looked like her best friend again. His grip then slackened and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. She wanted to kneel down on hold him, to return the energy but he wouldn't want that.

She took a deep breath and turned around so she could see Fred and Wesley. She walked over to them and knelt down next to the pair. ‘Give her to me Wesley,’ she commanded. The former Watcher passed the fragile form to her.

He wanted to say something.

He wanted to tell her to take care of Fred, to say thank you, to say… _anything._ But he had no words.

Willow saw the unsaid words illustrated in his face and spoke in a voice that reverberated around the room.

‘ _She will be safe. Look after Xander._ ’

And then, in a brilliant flash of pale green light, she, along with Fred, vanished from the room.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: The Deeper Well_ **

‘What signal?’ demanded Angel.

‘ _You won't miss it,_ ’ Harris replied confidently.

‘Harris?’ Angel asked, ‘Are you sure about this?’

‘ _Do you trust me?_ ’

‘ _What?’_ he asked, shocked at the question _._

‘ _Angel, do you trust me?_ ’ Harris repeated. Angel exhaled and looked over at Spike. He gave a small nod in response to his grandsire's unasked question.

‘Yes,’ he answered before turning to the platinum blonde vampire, ‘Spike, tell Drogyn to start the spell but not to cast it until I give the word.’ Spike grinned in response and rushed off to find the surly faced guardian of the Deeper Well. He could hear Harris talking but he was clearly too far away for the phone to pick up his voice. Angel supposed that he was telling the others of his plan.

Come to think of it; what was his plan?

Was this just blind hope or did the kid actually have something?

Something detonated behind him and he was flung from his feet and landed hard on his back. He looked up and finally saw the ‘signal’ Xander had mentioned. Willow gently lowered Fred to the ground before giving in to her exhaustion and lying down.

‘Spike!’ Angel yelled, ‘TELL DROGYN TO CAST THE SPELL!’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Science Lab_ **

Wesley rushed over to Xander's motionless form. ‘Watch him,’ he said to Gunn, who got up and walked over to Knox. Wesley picked the boy up in his arms and carried him out into the hall. He rushed to the stairwell and bumped into Lorne. The green skinned demon looked up in alarm.

‘What's going on?’ he asked, ‘What happened to him?’

‘The situation's changed,’ Wesley responded, ‘Willow was here.’

‘That witch from Sunnydale?’ he asked. Wesley answered by nodding. ‘What about Fred?’ Wesley was actually able to give a hopeful smile in response.

‘I think she's going to be okay,’ he said, ‘Xander gave Willow… Well I'm actually not entirely sure what happened. He gave her something that recharged her batteries and she took Fred to where Illyria originated. Angel and Spike will be able to leech it from her over there.’

‘Oh my god,’ said Lorne in relief, ‘That's amazing. What about him.’

‘We have to get him to a hospital,’ he said.

‘Why not medical?’ Lorne asked.

‘I don't think that's gonna cut it today,’ he answered, ‘He looks really bad.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: The Deeper Well_ **

‘TELL DROGYN TO CAST THE SPELL!’

Spike ran over to Drogyn. ‘Angel says it's safe to cast the spell,’ he said, ‘Like right this second.’ The guardian of the Well nodded and began to chant under his breath. Seeing that the spell was underway, Spike ran back to the chamber where he left Angel. He could see Willow and Fred lying in a newly formed crater and Angel climbing to his feet, evidently after being hurled to the ground by whatever forces allowed the two girls to travel all the way across the Pacific Ocean. He then saw the sarcophagus that started this whole mess also appear. As soon as it faded into reality, Fred's body started to violently convulse and she retched. He could almost see a form of a spectre being forced out of the girl's body accompanied with a high pitched hissing sound. However, that was not all that was happening to her; she seemed to be undergoing some sort of metamorphosis. Her hair colour changed to blue, her brown eyes became icy blue cat eyes and her skin was covered with an inconsistent wash of blue. Spike rushed to her side. ‘Fred,’ he called urgently, ‘Open your eyes.’ She coughed in his face and her eyelids flittered open.

‘Spike?’ she said weakly.

‘Yeah that's right,’ he said softly, leaning over her, ‘It's me.’

‘I feel strange,’ she said, ‘Like I'm… Different.’

‘Well you're still here,’ he said, ‘And that's all that matters.’

‘What happened?’ she asked, ‘I don't remember… I…’ Clearly it was still too much for her and her eyes (still a strange, vibrant blue) gently closed shut. _Willow._

He remembered that Fred wasn't the only person to appear, Willow also came with her. Angel was already attending to her, gently shaking her back into consciousness.

‘Come on, Willow,’ he said kindly, ‘Up you get.’ He lifted her up and carried her bridal style and laid her down on the table. Spike carried Fred over to them and laid her down next to the sleeping Willow. Angel looked at Fred and the physical alterations her body had undergone. ‘What happened to her?’ he asked.

‘I dunno,’ said Spike, ‘Whatever was hurting her was drained out but when it happened she went all smurfy on us.’ He chuckled slightly before continuing. ‘Doesn't really matter innit?’ he said, ‘Fred's alive.’ Angel patted his fellow champion on the back.

‘Yeah,’ he agreed, looking down at the sleeping girls, ‘I think this counts as a win.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Edinburgh_ **

**_9pm_ **

When Buffy first discovered that she was a Slayer, she was quite certain that there would not be huge, unrelenting piles of paper work in her future. Yet here she was. She had to write up a progress report for each and every girl that had been assigned to her in triplicate and then write up a digital back up. Dawn was in her room, working on an essay for Biology. The phone ringing was a welcome distraction. Dawn ran out of her room to answer it but Buffy was faster. ‘Too slow,’ she mocked before picking it up. ‘Hello,’ she answered, ‘Buffy speaking.’ Dawn couldn't hear the speaker on the other end of the line but she could see Buffy and the many changes her face went through during the conversation. At first it was confused, then there was a frown and then, finally, there was a look of joyful disbelief. ‘Alright,’ she said to the caller, ‘It's nine on the dot over here. If we leave at midnight we can get there by seven-thirty. Get us tickets and we'll be there. See you.’ She hung up and turned to Dawn. ‘Pack a bag,’ she said, ‘And be sure to include some music and snacks; we have a long drive ahead.’

‘Where are we going?’ Dawn asked, still entirely confused as to what was happening.

‘London,’ Buffy answered, heading her room where she already had a pre-packed duffel bag for if she needed to leave in a hurry.

‘Why are we going to London?’ asked Dawn, ‘Come on Buffy, talk to me. I don't understand.’ Buffy picked up the duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder before turning around to face her sister.

When she finally told her what she heard on the phone Dawn actually broke down crying and hugged Buffy in joy.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

Wesley had brought Xander back to the same hospital where he had gotten his bullet wound treated a few weeks ago. The doctors, already familiar with Wolfram & Hart and the injuries and ailments that its employees regularly suffered, were not surprised when they saw the head of Research and Intelligence carry an unconscious man with an eye patch into the Emergency Ward.

This time, having learned from the previous time at the hospital, Lorne told Harmony about Xander's injury and he gave the concerned vampire a lift in his car. By the time they got there, Xander was already awake, albeit heavily sedated and still extremely pale. Wesley was sitting at his side and they both looked up when Harmony and Lorne entered the room. Harmony walked over to the man in the bed and gently took his hand. Xander smiled and weakly squeezed her hand. He motioned for her to lean forward and he whispered, ‘I think I just saved Fred.’ She kissed him in response which he reciprocated with as much gusto as he could summon in his current weakened condition.

‘Xander,’ she whispered in response, ‘I'm proud of you and everything but can this be the last time you hospitalise yourself for the year?’

‘I'll make an effort,’ he promised with a smile.

‘Good,’ she said, ‘Cause if you don't, I'm coming after you.’

‘I'll be good,’ he promised before laying his head back on the pillow. He was going to rest his eye for _just a moment_ when he was jolted awake by the sound of Wesley's phone.

‘Yes,’ Wesley answered immediately, ‘Is she…? Okay. Yes. Oh thank God. Thank you. Okay. You'll call me if there's a change? Is he…? Yes he's fine, just a little worse for wear. Thank you. Goodbye.’ After he hung up, he looked like he had just run a marathon, like he had just stopped carrying the world.

‘What is it?’ asked Lorne.

‘Fred's going to be okay,’ he answered. He looked over at Xander who was struggling to sit up in the bed with the assistance of Harmony. ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘Thank you so much.’ His mouth opened and closed while he struggled to find the words to convey how grateful he was. Xander leant forward and placed his hand on Wesley's arm.

‘Wesley,’ he said, ‘It's fine.’ Wesley nodded wordlessly before Xander laughed. ‘Whoa,’ he said, ‘What do we do now? Awkward handshake or slightly more awkward man hug?’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: The Deeper Well_ **

Fred was now awake but still extremely woozy and confused. She felt… solid for lack of a better term. She opened her eyes but immediately closed them shut half a second later; the light was too intense. She had seen that Spike and Angel were nearby talking to Drogyn and that Willow was… Hang on. How did she get all that in less than half a second? And how could the poorly lit cave hurt her eyes. And why was she hearing every word of the whispered conversation being held at the other end of the chamber. She braced herself and forced open her eyes, fighting against the blinding intensity the cavern somehow held. She groaned in pain and the three immortal beings immediately rushed over to her. Spike reached for her with a steadying hand. ‘You okay?’ he asked not even bothering to disguise the tone of concern in his voice. She nodded hesitantly.

‘I-I think so,’ she said shakily, ‘I feel strange. What happened to me?’

‘We're still not sure,’ said Angel, ‘We'll ask Willow when she wakes up, maybe she can fill in the gaps.’

‘She can,’ responded a now awake Willow, who was furiously rubbing her temple, ‘What do you want to know?’ she asked, still exhausted. It would take days before she would feel adequately rested.

‘What happened to me?’ repeated Fred, ‘Why… Is my hair _blue?_ ’ she suddenly asked, having only just noted her newly coloured locks.

‘It was the spell I cast,’ explained Willow, ‘The one to slow down the infection rate and keep you alive. By the time the time we got here, the damage to our body was too great for you to survive even if Illyria was leeched from you. So the spell actually continued the physical process in order to keep you alive. This explains why I feel like sleeping for the next thousand years… the spell kept draining at what little energy I had left. Didn't know that that would happen.’

‘What does that mean for Fred,’ Angel asked quickly before Willow cut him off with her hand.

‘I dunno,’ she said, ‘I really have no clue. Nothing like this has ever happened before; a human soul in the body of an Old One. She's something new.’

‘How'd we get here?’ she asked, her voice slipping back into Texan in her confused state.

‘Xander ga–’ Willow began before realising that she had overlooked something. ‘Xander!’ she said frantically, ‘What happened to him? Is he okay?’

‘He's fine,’ said Angel, quickly cutting her off, ‘I spoke to Wesley half an hour ago; he's fine, just _really_ weak.’

‘What about Xander?’ asked Fred who, having been asleep for a good chunk of the time they were talking about, had absolutely no clue what they were talking about.

‘He gave me the energy I needed to get us here,’ Willow explained, ‘It was he who saved you.’

‘Not just him,’ said Fred, ‘He couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for what you did… Saving me I mean,’ she finished awkwardly. Willow nodded before yawning, stretching her arms out wide while doing so.

‘Is there anything else or can I go back to sleep?’ she asked.

‘Just one thing,’ Angel asked. She looked at him curiously. ‘Do you want to come back to L.A. with us tomorrow?’

‘Do I have to be awake?’ she replied drowsily.

‘No,’ he answered, ‘It's a private jet. We just want to get back before…’ He exchanged a look with Spike, ‘Well… stuff.’

‘Sure,’ she answered before drifting off, her dreams occupied by thr thought of her now complete family…

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: On route to London_ **

**_3:34am_ **

Buffy stole a glance from the empty highway to look at the sleeping Dawn. Even asleep, she still had the small hint of a smile on her face. Buffy was glad to learn that Xander was alive, of course she was, he was one of her best friends. And yet, despite that, she kept wondering about why he let them believe he had died. About why he stayed away.

One way or another, she was going to get some answers.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your feedback. Please keep it up


	9. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander is finally reunited with the Scoobies. But, is that a good thing?

**_Location: Hospital_ **

**_Midnight PDT_ **

It was the change in his breathing that woke her. Harmony had fallen asleep her head resting on Xander's chest with Wesley sleeping in the chair near the door. He had insisted on staying, he wanted to be on hand if there were any complications. Xander hadn't complained and neither had she. It had actually been fairly quiet; the doctors had said that he should make a full recovery and that his bullet wound was healing nicely. He just had to avoid strenuous activity to avoid reopening the wound. She had settled into an easy sleep when she was sure that he would be okay.

That was when his breathing increased.

It was subtle at first, barely noticeable, but then it grew more rapid. The breathing was followed by spasming, his body violently moved of its own accord and he groaned in animalistic pain. She looked at him in shock, trying to see what was wrong and then he started screaming incoherently. Wesley was woken by the sound he rushed to his friend's side. Harmony lightly patted him on the face

‘Come on,’ she said urgently, ‘Wake up. Xander, you're safe please wake up.’ With a gasp, he woke, sitting up straight. He buried his face and his hands and continued to shake uncontrollably however; it was now due to crying. Harmony tried to comfort him but he pushed her away from him.

‘Don't look at me,’ he begged. A nurse had been brought in by the noise but Wesley said it was a false alarm, just a bad dream. He exchanged a look with Harmony and she matched his gaze with an expression of concern and confusion.

Xander's breathing slowed down as he calmed himself down. He looked back at the pair with a dazed look of pain in his eye. His mouth opened and closed but no words came out. His face spasmed and he burst into tears. This time, he didn't fight off Harmony when she held him. He just said, ‘Sorry,’ over and over again. She gently rocked him until he was asleep again. She lowered him back into the bed and looked up at Wesley.

‘This isn't the first time this has happened is it?’ he asked. She shook her head tiredly.

‘No it's not,’ she said, ‘It's not all the time but…’ She shrugged, not sure what to say.

‘And you didn't think to tell anyone?’ he asked sternly.

‘I didn't want to go behind his back,’ she said, wiping away a stray tear from his sleeping face. It was still eerily pale as was the rest of him. His skin was almost translucent, it was possible to see the veins under his skin.

‘I understand that,’ he said, controlling his voice, ‘But, Harmony, this is serious. I think he might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. If something like this happens, you _need_ to tell someone.’ She hung her head.

‘I'm sorry,’ she said, ‘I'll let you know if it happens again.’

‘Good.’

‘I'm worried about him,’ she said suddenly, ‘He's been injured, shot and… well this. He's coming in for medical attention too much and… I'm worried about what's gonna happen when he sees his friends again. He's been through so much; Sunnydale, Cordelia, being shot…’ She threw up her hands in disbelief. ‘I don't know what to do,’ she exclaimed, ‘For the first time in my entire life, both of them, I'm with someone I actually like, it feels real and I have no idea how to help him.’ She groaned in frustration before stifling it suddenly, she didn't want to wake Xander. Wesley smiled sympathetically.

‘If it makes you feel any better,’ he said, ‘I think understand what you're going through better than anyone else.’ She looked at him quizzically. ‘Fred,’ he clarified, ‘Angel called earlier. He said that she has undergone a metamorphosis of sorts, something entirely new. I don't know what to do,’ he admitted, ‘All I can do is be there for her.’ She suddenly chuckled slightly. ‘What?’ he asked.

‘Oh nothing,’ she said, ‘I just realised that this is probably the longest conversation you and I have ever had.’ He gave a small, tired smile in response.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Heathrow Airport_ **

**_8am BST_ **

After nearly ten minutes of searching, Buffy was finally able to find a park for her car.

‘Wake up,’ she said to Dawn; tapping her on the shoulder, ‘We're here.’

‘We are?’ she replied blearily, still half asleep.

‘Come on,’ Buffy instructed, ‘We have to hurry if we want to catch Giles and Kennedy before our flight.’ Now awake, Dawn got up out of the seat, stretched and got her bags, moving quickly to keep up with her sister.

After passing through security, they caught up Giles and Kennedy, waiting at the terminal. Dawn immediately gave Giles a hug; the former librarian looked like he needed it.

‘It's good to see you both.’ His words were stiff, as if he had forgotten how to talk.

‘How are you holding up?’ Buffy’s voice was full of concern.

‘Could be worse.’

‘Come on,’ said Kennedy, ‘It's final boarding call. We don't want to miss it.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: The Deeper Well_ **

**_9am BST_ **

‘Come on, Red,’ said Spike as he scooped the young witch up into his arms and carried her into the private jet, ‘Upsy-daisy.’

‘Ha ha,’ she deadpanned, ‘If I had my strength back you wouldn't be brave enough to mock.’ He laughed at her discomfort; she was still adorable even when sulking.

Fred hesitantly sat down in her chair, clearly nervous.

‘It's okay,’ said Angel reassuringly, ‘You're doing fine.’ She nodded and tapped a random beat into the armrest. Five seconds later, there was a loud _SNAP_ and she held what was left of the armrest in shock. ‘Ok-ay,’ said Angel, ‘Clearly we need stronger armrests.’

‘I-I didn't mean to,’ she babbled quickly, ‘I didn… I mean, oh sorry, I'm just –’

‘Fred,’ he cut in, ‘It's fine. Just remember that this is new territory for all of us. Just remember that the important thing is that you are still with us. That's all that matters.’

‘Okay,’ she said after taking several deep breaths, ‘I can do this.’

‘Just take it a step at a time,’ he said encouragingly.

‘I can do this,’ she repeated.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

**_4:30am PDT_ **

Xander awoke again, only this time with less violent spasming. He knew that there was something important happening right now. He just couldn't remember.

Oh, that's right.

He sat up, ignoring the pain in his chest and gut and tried to get out of the bed.

 _Tried_ being the operative word here.

After he got up off the floor, he ambled around in the dark until he could find his clothes.

_Flick._

The light switched on and both Wesley and Harmony were sitting across from him, wide awake, with matching expressions of amusement on their faces. He nodded for a couple of seconds.

‘To be fair,’ he said, ‘This is hardly the worst thing someone has caught me doing.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: British Airways flight to Los Angeles – First Class_ **

‘You keep fidgeting,’ said Giles. Buffy guiltily let go of the blonde braid of hair she playing with and sighed.

‘I just have no idea how this is going to go down,’ she said, gazing out the window. She looked over at Dawn and Kennedy. She saw the Slayer quickly confiscate the champagne that the younger (under twenty-one years old) girl had been trying to steal when no-one was looking. ‘You know,’ she said absently, ‘It could just be all the crazy stuff that's been happening lately but I might actually be developing some fondness for that girl.’ Giles chuckled in agreement.

‘Well there had to be a reason Willow kept her around,’ he said.

‘I always just figured she was really good in the sack,’ she said absently before instantly realising what she just said. ‘Did anyone else's mind just go to a _really_ scary place just now?’

‘Maybe we should just stop talking for a bit,’ he said.

            ‘Couldn't agree more,’ she replied.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Hospital_ **

Xander threw out his hands in defeat and sat back down on the bed. The movement caused pain to flare up all over him.

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘You got me. You're not stopping me.’

‘Really?’ replied Wesley with his left eyebrow heading north, ‘Because I think between a former Watcher and an angry vampire, we've got you covered.’

‘Look,’ he said pacifyingly, ‘Willow and the others will be touching down in a few minutes and I want to catch them before… You know, stuff.’ Wesley folded his arms.

            ‘There is absolutely nothing you can say that would convince me to let you go,’ he said smugly.

‘I can think of one,’ Xander replied confidently.

‘Is that so?’

‘Fred is also on that plane,’ said Xander, ‘She's coming back home after suffering a horrific curse and has undergone a significant physical transformation. In fact, the only reason you're not there right now is because you feel that you owe for the _very little_ I did to prevent her death. If you really want to be square with me, you should accompany me to the airport as I was recently hospitalised, I might need assistance.’

Wesley's expression tightened in response.

‘Damn you. I'll let you get changed.’ He left the room leaving a now flabbergasted Harmony now without a partner in stopping Xander. She sighed in defeat.

‘Please Xander,’ she begged; playing her last card, ‘You have had _a lot_ of… stuff happen to you lately. Can you _please_ just let this go? Just for tonight.’ With some difficulty, he rose from the bed and took a few faltering steps towards her before stumbling. Instinctively, she caught him.

‘Thanks,’ he said. He looked up at her. ‘If this was anything else I would,’ he said, ‘I really mean that. It's just if I know Buffy and the others, which I do, they're on their way here right now and I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen. I'm terrified which you may have guessed from the little display earlier. I just want to see her before everything… well, happens.’ He looked at her, waiting for a response.

‘Then I suppose I'd better help you get dressed,’ she said finally.

‘ _So_ close to the perfect sentence,’ he replied cheekily.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Los Angeles Airport_ **

As the private jet hit the tarmac, Willow was jolted awake.

‘We there already?’ she asked tiredly.

‘Our jets are really fast,’ said Spike.

‘ _Our_ jets Spike?’ asked Angel, ‘Getting a little familiar if you ask me.’

‘Shut up Ang– Ah,’ began Spike before exclaiming in surprise. ‘It appears we have a welcoming party,’ he said, peering out the window. ‘Hey Fred,’ he said, ‘Looks like lover boy is here to see you.’ Spike had decided on the ride to treat Fred exactly the same as before (as much as possible). Given all of the changes that had happened to her, he wanted to give her something normal.

Fred quickly got up (accidently tearing the chair from the floor whilst doing so) and rushed to the window. Sure enough, Wesley, Harmony and a wheelchair bound (again) Xander were there waiting for them.

‘Oh no,’ she said, ‘He can't see me like this.’ She covered her face with her palms, as though that would hide the changes.

‘Hey,’ said Spike, (carefully) taking her hand in his own, ‘I know he can be a bit of a pansy at times, but the guy is not stupid enough to stop loving you just because you went technicolour. It's gonna be fine.’ She nodded in response.

‘Okay,’ she said after taking a deep breath, ‘Let's go meet them.’

Outside the plane, on the runway, Wesley was standing so still he might have been carved from granite. Xander knew him well enough to know that he was extremely nervous.

‘Hey,’ he said kindly, ‘It's gonna be fine. _She's_ gonna be fine.’ The former Watcher jerked his head in might have been a nod.

The plane door opened and they saw Fred.

She stood in the doorway, the interior lights allowing her to be seen entirely. Her hair and skin had bits of blue all over her, like a demented painter and flicked paints at her for a good half hour, her eyes were yellow (visible even at that distance) with blue irises and the parts of her skin that were not covered with blue were almost chalk-white.

She didn't look natural.

She didn't look safe.

She didn't look human.

Wesley took one look at her and ascended the step to the plane's entrance before pulling her into a hug and kissing her. He had seen everything that had happened and he simply decided that he didn't care.

She was still Fred.

‘You can't,’ she said breaking out of the hug, ‘I could hurt you.’

‘You never could,’ he replied, kissing her again.

Moving around the kissing pair, Xander could see Spike carrying Willow in his arms. As he carried her down the stairs, she looked up and saw him, sitting in the wheelchair, his skin still showing the effects of the missing life force he gave to her to bring Fred to the Well. With a pained grunt, he rose from the chair. As he did that, Willow climbed out of Spike's arms and stood under her own power.

They each took a step towards each other.

And then they took another.

And then another.

They stood there, facing each other, for a moment before she hugged him and he hugged her back.

Xander knew that the coming days would be difficult; he knew he had a lot to answer for and he decided that he didn't care.

His friend was with him again and, together, they had saved the life of Winifred Burkle.

Fred finally (regretfully) extracted herself from Wesley's embrace and rushed down the stairs to the hugging couple on the runway. Willow stepped away from Xander as Fred reached for him.

‘It's good to have you back with us, Fred,’ he said as she hugged him. She took a step back from him and looked at her feet for a moment.

‘Willow told me what you did,’ she said finally, ‘Uh… Um… Just, thank you. Thank you so much. I-I don't know what else to say that could even come close to how grateful I am to both of you.’ She wiped a tear from her eye. ‘Oh great,’ she said, ‘Now I'm crying.’ He laughed. ‘It's not funny,’ she said, despite laughing. ‘It's not stopping,’ she said as the tears continued to streak down her face. Xander pulled her to him again.

‘It's a little bit funny,’ he said with a grin before kissing her on the forehead.

Strangely enough, Harmony also gave Fred a hug and welcomed her back. Then again, maybe it wasn't that strange.

As Willow watched them she was sure that she had met the blonde woman before but she couldn't remember where. Maybe she just had one of those faces.

A car pulled up behind them and Lorne and Gunn emerged and, they too, hugged Fred and welcomed her back.

From the cockpit window, Spike and Angel watched the proceedings down below, letting them have their moment.

When they had all hugged Fred and were finally done gushing over her being alive, they all climbed into the cars to take them back to Wolfram & Hart. Willow was in a different to Xander and as she watched the blonde girl climb in next to him, a thought occurred to her; _was that Harmony?_

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: British Airways flight to Los Angeles – First Class_ **

_Just another six hours,_ thought Buffy as she inserted the next disc of her show into the player. Andrew had gone and bought all the seasons to _Star Trek: The Next Generations_ , and while she thought that was stupid, she didn't have much else to do that could pass the time and take her mind of other things. She didn't know what was worse; that she would confront Xander before the day was over or that she was actually starting to like the show. Though that might have just been John de Lancie's sheer awesomeness.

Somewhere behind her, Dawn and Kennedy were playing chess. Kennedy was a prodigy back home and, despite going easy on her, was absolutely annihilating the younger girl.

‘Alright,’ said Kennedy, ‘You're big problem is how you're using your pawns. Yes, I know that they're the ‘weakest’ type but they work as an excellent defensive wall.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart lobby_ **

‘You know, I still can't believe you guys work here,’ said Willow as she and Xander entered the lobby.

‘I have no illusions about this place,’ he said in response, ‘But I know that the work I do personally is worthwhile. Wesley and I have really done some good in the last few months.’

‘If you say so,’ she said, trying to keep the doubt out of her voice. ‘Hey,’ she said, remembering something from before. ‘Was that Harmony with you guys at the airport?’

_Uh-oh._

‘Um, yeah,’ he said evasively, ‘She's actually Angel's secretary.’ She noted the tension in his voice.

‘What's up?’ she asked, ‘You seem a little odd. Is it your wound? I could –’

‘It's fine,’ he said quickly.

‘You sure?’ she asked.

‘Willow, I'm fine,’ he said with a hint of irritation creeping in his voice. ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I don't know what came over me. Weird couple of days huh?’

‘I guess you could say that,’ she agreed, silently wondering what she did that set him off. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked, given that they had split off from the others. They were on the first level above the ground floor, quite near the main entrance actually.

‘You said Buffy and the others are on their merry way here,’ he replied, ‘I need to be prepared.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ she asked as they stopped in front of what appeared to be a janitor's closet. He opened it to reveal a small room with all sorts of random items inside; some she recognised, others she didn't. There were a few broken weapons, some odd looking crystals of varying quality, some… weird thing and, strangely enough, the equipment a janitor would use; a mop, a bucket and various cleaning agents. He briefly rummaged through a pile of knick knacks before extracting a small bottle, barely larger than the medicine one could by at a chemist. ‘What is that?’ she asked.

‘You remember that test the Council tried to put Buffy through?’ he asked, seemingly ignoring her, ‘Giles got fired for not going through with it?’ She nodded, still not getting where this was going.

‘What was the test?’ he asked her, already knowing the answer.

‘She had no powers and she had to…’ Willow began before trailing off. ‘What is that?’ she repeated in a firmer voice.

‘An insurance policy,’ he said enigmatically. With the dark lighting of the room and his still pale skin, Xander actually looked quite sinister.

‘Is that the drug that Giles dosed Buffy with?’ she asked, her voice becoming dangerous.

‘Close enough,’ he answered, ‘It just doesn't need to be injected into the bloodstream to take effect; simply breathing in the fumes works.’

‘What the hell?’ she demanded, ‘She's your friend and you're gonna –’

‘She's _your_ friend,’ he countered, ‘All I remember is a girl with a god complex and a tremendous sense of entitlement who used violence and intimidation when people acted in a way that didn't coincide exactly with her demented little fantasy of how the world should work.’

‘What do you mean?’ she said, ‘You –’

‘ _I am the law_ ,’ he said, imitating the blonde Slayer, ‘She immediately tried to kill Anya despite wasting _three months_ when _her_ love interest went bad. Do you know how many people died because of her weakness? But the second someone she doesn't like does the same thing? _She must die, don't argue with me, I'm always right._ And let's just ignore the part where she effectively calls me and the potentials cannon fodder, or the part where she made Faith – _fucking Faith_ – look like the reasonable one. And just to clarify – I _hate_ Faith with everything I am and ever could be. And yet, _somehow_ , she looked like the better leader. So yes, Willow, I feel the need for some sort of back-up plan in case she decides to go all… well… _her_.’

‘I don't get,’ she said, ‘Why do think like this? It got better.’

‘Did it?’ he asked, not being sarcastic or confrontational. It seemed like he genuinely wanted an answer. He lent on his cane as the tension in his body caused his wound to flare up. ‘I remember the last conversation I had with that woman. I was in some bar back in Cleveland in… well not a good state anyway. It was the night before I set off for Africa and I'd found a photo of Anya hidden in a book and one thing led to another and I ended up jumping into a whiskey glass. Not one of my brighter ideas but there you go.’ He paused for a moment before continuing. ‘I don't think I'm ever going to forget what she said to me. She said – and I quote – that I needed to ‘be professional and not become over emotional over things we can't change.’ So asked her what she was doing when she was being all emo like after being brought back from the dead, or how she neglected to tell us Angel was back, or the whole her trying to kill us because the voices in her head told her to. Then she hit me.’ He noted the look of surprise on Willow's face. ‘She didn't tell you that didn't she?’ he asked.

‘She said you and her had an argument–’ He laughed derisively.

‘If that was her idea of an argument,’ he snorted, ‘I'd hate to see her definition of a war. No one would walk out that. We’re talking scorched Earth here.’

‘Look,’ she said, ‘I'm not going to pretend she's blameless but you've clearly got this exaggerated image of her in your head. She's not perfect but she is nowhere as bad as you've made her out to be.’

‘So what do you want me to do?’ he asked her.

‘I want to put the bottle down and leave it here,’ she said simply.

‘And what would convince me to do that?’ he asked.

‘What would Anya think of you, doing what you're doing?’ she asked in response, ‘Remember how she felt when her powers were first stripped from her? Could you do that to someone else, even temporarily?’ His jaw tightened at her words and the bottle slipped from his fingers, shattering on impact.

‘Low blow, Rosenberg,’ he said before storming off, leaving his cane behind, too angry to notice.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Los Angeles Airport_ **

‘ _Passengers,_ ’ said the intercom, ‘ _This is you're pilot speaking. Please be seated and fasten your seatbelts, we are about to land._ ’

As the plane touched down, Buffy's heart rate accelerated dramatically.

_Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump thumpthumpthumpthump._

‘Here we go,’ she said to herself. ‘Nervous?’ she asked Giles who was beating a tattoo into his armrest.

‘Catatonic,’ was the one word reply. Even Dawn seemed a little pensive now that they had finally reached Los Angeles. It was no longer happening in the future, it was actually happening now.

Kennedy felt like the fourth wheel; she was the only one present who didn't really have a connection to Xander and wasn't really emotionally invested in the reunion. She was happy he was alive, of course, he was Willow's oldest childhood friend but what was he to her, Kennedy? All she really remembered about him was that he was quite moody but could be quite funny when the occasion called for it. It was weird, how was she supposed to feel in this situation? The only thing she was certain of was that, no matter what went down, she would be there to support Willow. It was all she knew she could do.

‘Willow arranged a driver to pick us up, right?’ Dawn asked as they exited the airport. Buffy nodded, looking around at the sea of faces waiting for their various rides.

‘Yeah,’ she confirmed, ‘There should be a – Oh there he is.’ A handsome, short haired, dark skinned man in a clearly expensive business suit walked up to them and shook Buffy's hand.

‘Hello, Miss Summers,’ he said rather fo, ‘I'm Charles Gunn, I work for Angel and he asked me to escort you to the building.’ Giles looked confused.

‘Gunn? Willow mentioned you,’ he said, ‘I thought you were one of Angel's top people. What are you doing on escort duty?’

‘Angel might be running the scene at Wolfram & Hart,’ he explained, ‘But he's no idiot. Many of the employees have… well, to put it delicately, feelings of resentment towards you and your friends. He just thought it was safer if he had someone he trusts pick you up.’

‘He thinks we'd be in danger?’ asked Kennedy. Gunn actually laughed at that.

‘Quite frankly, I reckon he's more concerned about his employees. Two Slayers and a Watcher? Can you imagine how many people we'd have to replace if you guys went on a rampage?’

‘Fair enough,’ said Giles curtly, clearly eager to be done with small talk, ‘Lead the way.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Lobby_ **

‘So Xander actually works here?’ Dawn asked as they entered the building and took it all in. Everywhere they looked they could see lawyers (some human, some not) going about their business. _Aren't these guys evil?_

            ‘Yeah,’ said Gunn, either missing or ignoring the catch in her voice. ‘He's really been quite an asset; he actually saved my ass first day we met. And he's also done good work with Wesley in Research and Intelligence.

 _Xander doing research willingly,_ thought Buffy, _that's new._

As they climbed the stairs Gunn continued to fill them in on the kind of work Xander and the rest of the team did when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Xander was storming towards them or, rather, storming _away_ from Willow who was trying to keep up with him. It was entirely possible he didn't notice them until he right on top of them. He smiled sardonically at the turn of events.

_Well this is just lovely._

When Willow realised what she had just walked into, she just froze, scared of what was going to happen. Kennedy saw her and immediately rushed to her side and kissed her on the mouth.

‘Hi, Dawn,’ said Xander, somewhat awkwardly, ‘It's been a while.’ To his surprise, Dawn actually smiled and hugged him warmly.

‘It's good to see you,’ she said. Now that was surprising. Out of all of the people in the group, Willow included, Dawn was the one he had been most worried about hurting. However, Dawn was just happy to have her friend back. She finally let go of him and stepped over to the side with Willow and Kennedy.

Giles took a single step forward.

‘Xander,’ he said politely by way of greeting.

‘Rupert,’ replied Xander in a tone just as polite as the Watcher's.

‘How've you been?’ he asked cordially.

‘I've been good,’ came the response, ‘You?’

‘I can't complain,’ he answered.

‘Good to hear,’ said Xander pleasantly.

‘Oh there was one thing,’ said Giles. Xander tilted his head curiously.

‘Yes?’ he asked before Giles punched him hard in the jaw. Xander grabbed the older man by the shoulders and kneed him in between the legs causing the Watcher to briefly keel over in pain before retaliating with a punch to the gut. Xander grunted in pain before charging at him and sending both of them tumbling down the stairs into the lobby. They landed in a heap but quickly got up and continued to each rain blows down upon the other.

All of the workers stopped whatever it was that they were doing and watched the spectacle before them.

‘Should we be doing something?’ asked Kennedy.

‘Do you want to get in the middle of that?’ Buffy asked, not taking her eyes on the scene. Willow's eyes widened in horror as she realised something.

‘We have to stop them,’ she said just as Gunn came to the same realisation as her.

Giles punched Xander on the chin, momentarily stunning him, causing his next blow to fall wide of the mark.

‘Getting sloppy, Xander,’ said Giles as he deflected a punch. Xander actually laughed despite the blood dribbling out from his lips.

‘Oh that is so _you_ ,’ he said, ‘Always criticising, never good enough.’ He then tackled him to the ground and punched him again, this time striking home. ‘Well I don't need your approval anymore _Rupert_ ,’ he said fiercely before getting up and taking a step back. ‘Oh,’ he said as an afterthought, ‘Could someone please alert medical?’

‘I don't need it,’ snarled Giles, painfully rising to his feet. Xander laughed in response.

‘Not for you,’ he said strangely. He felt like he was floating. ‘It's for me,’ he said before clutching his gut and collapsing to his knees as the blood from his now re-opened bullet wound seeped between his fingers.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Medical Bay_ **

‘So you were shot?’ asked Giles he dabbed a tissue to his bleeding nose. The boy had really done a number on him.

‘Yeah,’ Xander answered from his bed, ‘Probably should have mentioned or something.’

‘Probably,’ he agreed.

Buffy watched the two men chatting politely and was confused.

‘I don't get it,’ she said to Dawn, ‘Weren't the just trying to kill each other?’

‘I thought so too,’ replied Dawn.

‘It's a guy thing,’ Gunn explained.

‘I don't think I'm ever fully going to understand them,’ she said.

‘You know?’ Kennedy piped up, ‘If they're that confusing, you can always change teams.’

They were saved from replying to her by Harmony storming in the room and making a beeline for Xander's bed.

‘You stupid _idiot!_ ’ she screeched, poking him roughly in the chest.

‘Ow!’ he exclaimed, ‘What was that for?’

Recognising Harmony, Buffy immediately reached for her stake but Gunn quickly stopped her by grabbing her arm.

‘ _At what point did you think it was a good idea to get into a punch up with a bullet wound in the chest?_ ’ she demanded.

‘Uh whoops?’ he offered weakly. That was clearly a mistake as she poked him in the chest again. ‘Ow, stop that,’ he said, ‘You're not the boss of me, it's my life.’

‘No it's not Harris,’ she said, ‘It's _mine_ and you do not have my permission to throw it away in some stupid macho pissing contest.’

Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Giles all immediately looked up in surprise.

_What?!_


	10. Returned To Factory Settings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rocky reunion, the Scoobies and the Fang Gang are forced to team up after a rogue employee of Wolfram and Hart attempts to kill Buffy. However, this mystery assassin has a secret weapon and suddenly they are playing by different rules.

**_Location: Angel's Office_ **

‘What happens now?’ asked Fred, gazing at her reflection in the shining surface of one of Angel's battle axes.

‘That's what we're here to discuss,’ said Angel, leaning back onto his desk, ‘What we'd like to do is prepare a series of tests for you to run. You know, the usual; strength, speed, endurance, that sort of thing. We also are gonna get Wesley and Harris (when he's up) to hit the books and see if _anything_ remotely similar to this has ever happened for some pointers.’ He looked straight into her now alien blue eyes. ‘You will be alright,’ he said with certainty, ‘We'll make sure of it.’

‘Right thing, love,’ said Spike, ‘So, when you're free, how bout you and I go down to the gym and go a couple of rounds? I wanna see what kind of tricks you got.’ She looked over at Wesley for a moment.

‘Yeah,’ she said finally, ‘I want to find out everything I can.’

Wesley smiled in response. Fred _was_ going to be okay.

‘Righto,’ said Spike, ‘Onwards and all that jazz.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Medical Bay_ **

No one said anything. Giles, Buffy, Willow and Dawn were all doing fairly decent impressions of guppies at feeding time, Kennedy was struggling to control a smirk that was spreading across her face and Gunn was just rubbing the bridge of his nose, waiting for this train wreck to reach the end of the line.

Harmony, of course, didn't pay any attention to that; she was too busy scolding the unfortunate man in the bed.

‘I simply am incapable of understanding how it is possible for you to be so thick-headed ,’ she said in a long suffering tone. ‘I mean we _talked about this_ ,’ she said, ‘Remember? The whole ‘no hospitalisations for the rest of the year’ conversation we had?’ He didn't say anything in response; he just sat there in the bed with a sort of dazed expression on his face. ‘That _wasn't_ a rhetorical question Harris,’ she growled in exasperation.

‘Um, yeah… kinda?’ he offered, wincing at the sheer lameness of his response. ‘That very clearly was the wrong thing to say,’ he said quickly, ‘I should really stop talking now.’

‘Probably a good idea,’ she said pointedly, ‘First one you seem to have had all day. Look, I don’t mean to snap at you but I worry. It’s not fun watching you get hurt.’ She looked around and, for the first time, noticed the newcomers, including the Slayer that had tried to dust her on numerous occasions. ‘Oh,’ she said, strangely unconcerned but, then again, she didn't really see occasionally trying to kill someone to be that big of a deal. ‘I didn't know that you visitors,’ she continued, ‘So, I’ll see you later tonight?’ She pecked him lightly on the lips and, still _entirely_ oblivious to the completely dumbfounded expressions on the others' faces, left the room quietly without any more fuss.

Xander raised his head in exasperation and then noticed the rather startled expressions being directed at him. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘Uh, that wasn't what at all what it looked like.’

‘Really?’ asked Willow with a dazed expression, ‘Because it looks like you and Harmony are… _What?!_ ’

‘Well in that case it's kind of exactly what it looks like,’ he answered. _It's like ripping off a band aid, just get it over quickly._

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Training Room_ **

‘Come on, Blue Eyes, let's see what you've got,’ said Spike, holding his hands out in the classic ‘bring it’ style he liked so very much.

‘Sure you can take me?’ Fred challenged playfully in response. She should have felt fear. Her entire biology was different, she looked different and she knew that this was entirely foreign territory. Fear would have been the most logical of responses.

However, logic didn't count on Wesley, Angel and Spike all being there with her, to share the journey. She didn't feel afraid; she felt something that was actually quite the opposite.

Confidence.

She cracked her knuckles together and advanced on the vampire.

‘Alright Spike,’ she said, ‘You're on.’

The bout lasted exactly 6.5217 seconds.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Medical Bay_ **

‘Okay, everybody out,’ said Buffy, shooing the others out of the small room. As soon as they were gone she gave Xander a small smile and added, ‘I'm fairly certain you didn't want the whole inquisition while been stuck in a bed.’

‘Thanks,’ he said carefully before remaining silent. He had a general idea of what it was that she wanted to say and he wasn't going to make it easy for her by talking first. She nervously drummed her fingers against the table she was now sitting on. He leant back into his bed, waiting expectantly. She briefly made eye contact with him before flinching and looking down at her shoes. She buried her face in her hands and breathed deeply for a few seconds before finally raising her head to meet his gaze. He still didn't say anything, unflinchingly maintaining eye contact. She shook her head slightly and sighed before finally speaking.

‘Um, about what happened back in Cleveland,’ she began, ‘I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said and I should not have hit you.’ He continued his silence. ‘But you were _dead,_ ’ she said suddenly, just a little angry, ‘No matter what I did that was so… How could you do that?’ He chuckled bitterly, breaking his silence.

‘You're so right,’ he said in agreement. Buffy hadn't seen him for quite a while so she didn't notice the danger signs in his voice. ‘I mean, running to L.A. after losing the love of my life? Not telling anyone that I was alive? You're right, I shouldn't have done that. You're right to tell me that because I simply cannot imagine you doing that – Oh right, you _did_ do exactly that. Angel dying, you leaving without telling us dying and all those fun things. You remember that? I remember that. Don't you dare judge me Summers, don't _ever_ think you get to do that.’ She was struck dumb.

He was right.

‘I don't know what else to say,’ she said with a faltering voice, ‘I don't know what I'm supposed to say to make it better.’

‘Nothing,’ he answered, ‘There is no magic word you can say to make it better. You hurt me… And I hurt you and Willow and Dawn.’ He sighed. ‘I just don't know how we can fix this without time.’ To his shock, she gently covered his hand with her own.

‘You're my friend,’ she said simply, ‘I'll do whatever it takes to make things better between us.’ He didn't say anything, he just smiled weakly in response.

‘So about Harmony,’ she began. He quickly pulled away his hand.

‘Tender moment goes 'bye, bye,'‘ he muttered, annoyed.

‘I'm serious,’ she said, ‘What's going on?’

‘I'm apparently dating a soulless demon from Hell,’ he said ambivalently.

‘Dating?’ she asked.

‘Hey you can't judge,’ he retorted, ‘What about Spike?’

‘I'm not sure you'd call that _dating_ ’ she replied. He shuddered slightly at her words.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Training Room_ **

Round Nine:

As Spike readied himself for being hurled into the wall (again) he couldn't help think back on the times when he was the baddest thing around. Unfortunately, that was a long time ago.

_SLAM!_

‘Ow, ow, ow,’ he grumbled as he picked himself off the floor.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked, offering him her hand. He grudgingly took it and she helped him to his feet. He looked at the observation window and, through it, he could see Angel and Wesley smirking at him.

‘I've been worse,’ he said, answering her.

‘Need a break?’

‘Sure, why not?’

He wearily leant against the wall in quite considerable pain. The girl had always known how to throw a punch, now she had unlimited strength behind it.

‘Can I ask a question?’ she just asked.

‘Free country,’ he replied.

‘Why are you here?’ she asked. He looked at her in confusion.

‘What do you mean?’ he replied, ‘I'm here to help test you.’ She nodded in exasperation.

‘I know _that_ ,’ she said irritably, ‘I mean why are you _here_? With me? Buffy is here and you're not… where she is. Why?’

‘You don't beat about the bush, do you?’ he asked in amazement.

‘It tends to save time,’ she replied while shaking her sapphire hair out.

‘I'm probably here the same reason he is,’ answered Spike, jerking his head in Angel's direction, ‘I mean, what are either of us supposed to say? I mean, I was dead and we're _both_ with Wolfram  & Hart, something she doesn't like much. Also… I dunno.’ He sort of trailed off.

‘You're nervous,’ she said suddenly, ‘That's what it is. You don't know what to say to her.’

‘I do _not_ get nervous,’ he said hotly, ‘I'm just… concerned about getting it right.’

‘Be honest,’ she suggested, ‘Not just with her but with you. You have to ask yourself what you really want.’

‘I honestly don't know,’ he said sardonically, shaking his head ruefully.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Medical Bay_ **

‘So, walk me through this,’ said Buffy, ‘I'm not trying to judge, I don't get to do that. Just help me understand.’ She had her hands clasped and was busy looking at them as she waited for a response.

She didn't get one.

She looked up and saw him. Tears were silently pouring out of his good eye as he looked straight ahead.

‘I don't understand,’ he said, ‘No, that's a lie. I just don't want to understand. I do think that, in her own way, she does have something approaching affection for me but… It's not real. It's just been an easy way of hiding.’ He choked slightly and scrunched his eye shut, trying to stop the tears through willpower.

It wasn't working.

He looked at her and she looked back at him and, for maybe the first time ever, she saw _him_. He bared himself to her completely with nothing held back.

He wasn't a sarcastic joker, he wasn't carpenter and he wasn't a soldier. They were just different masks he wore. Masks he'd worn for so long that Buffy hadn't even noticed that he was wearing them.

He was sad.

He always laughed at the world so that it could never laugh at him first.

‘I miss Anya,’ he said, his voice breaking, ‘And I'm with Harmony because she reminds me of her. I'm lying to her but I'm also lying to myself and I don't think I can do that anymore.’

She took his hand again but, this time, he didn't pull away.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Training Room_ **

‘Alright, Fred, I think Spike's had enough,’ said Wesley, finally getting bored of watching Spike get hurled into the wall.

‘Are you sure,’ asked Spike woozily, ‘I'm still good for a…’ His voice trailed off before he dizzily spun around and landed in a heap.

‘Quite sure,’ affirmed Wesley. Fred looked down at her tiny hands in disbelief.

‘I still can't believe this,’ she said, ‘This is going to take some serious getting used to.’ She tilted her head slightly as though she was listening for something. ‘Can you hear a buzzing sound?’ she asked curiously.

‘No,’ replied Wesley, ‘Why?’

‘I thought I could hear… Never mind.’ She shook her head vigorously, as though she could simply will away the noise. It was coming from behind her but there was nothing there, just some practice mats, a table and a potted plant. ‘What's next,’ she asked.

‘Well,’ said Angel, finally entering the training room, ‘We're gonna want to test your other senses like sight and hearing. We want to see if there's any noticeable improvement or difference. I'm also going to question Knox and see what else he knows.’

‘What are you going to do with him?’ she asked, not entirely sure of what she wanted to hear.

‘I haven't decided yet,’ he replied ominously, ‘It all entirely depends on just how forthcoming he is with what he knows.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘So Xander and Harmony?’ said Dawn distastefully, ‘I wonder how that little horror show got started.’

‘Well, considering it's Xander,’ said Willow, ‘Odds are she tried to kill him first, that's how it normally works with him, right?’

‘Personally, I'd rather not think about it too much,’ said Giles while cleaning his glasses with the hem of his shirt.

‘Agreed,’ said Kennedy.

‘What do you think they're talking about?’ asked Dawn of no one in particular, ‘They've been in there for a while now.’

‘So long as they're not hitting each other, I don't really care,’ replied Willow, shooting a _very_ dirty look in Giles' direction. ‘What on Earth possessed you to hit him like that?’ she demanded. He shrugged non-committedly in response.

‘I dunno,’ he said, ‘It seemed like the appropriate thing to do at the time.’

‘He had a bullet wound to the chest,’ she said fiercely.

‘That I did not know about,’ he countered as though the matter was closed and didn't need to be readdressed.

‘Still unexpected,’ said Dawn thoughtfully, ‘If either of you were that ‘rah’ when fighting vampires, my sister would be out of a job.’ She held up her hands like claws to punctuate the ‘rah.’

‘Easy tiger,’ said a pleasant voice from behind them. They turned to see a tall green skinned demon. He also had red horns.

‘Lorne,’ exclaimed Willow happily, ‘It's good to see you again. I didn't think to expect you here.’ She gave him a big hug.

‘Well you know how it is,’ he said heartily, ‘They'd all fall apart if I wasn't there to keep 'em on the straight and narrow.’

‘This is Lorne,’ said Willow, introducing him to the others, ‘Don't be shy, he's really nice.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Gunn's Office_ **

_Hmm, that's odd,_ thought Gunn as he carefully scanned the documents on his desk. He was busy going over the employee expenses over the past week and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. It couldn't be his implants playing up, especially over what it had nearly cost to maintain them. It was something else, staring him right in the face but he couldn't figure out what it was.

_Eureka!_

In the past twenty-four hours, two separate sub-divisions had made various requisition orders for several items. On their own, they posed no problem but, if assembled together, they were all of the components necessary of a Tonabi Extrapolator – a machine used for crude, one shot dimension jumps. This was, presently, merely speculation but Gunn was convinced that he was on to something. He had his secretary e-mail him all information regarding the Arms and Munitions sub-section of Applied Sciences and the Portals and Gateways sub-section of Research and Intelligence (the two groups concerned). As he thought, there was one tiny, almost inconsequential thing linking the two groups.

Slayers.

Both sub-divisions had been requesting funding for research into possible ways for neutralising Slayers that interfered with Wolfram & Hart affairs. Obviously, Angel had told them precisely _where_ to stick those ideas but they persisted, just a little less conspicuously. The fact that they had put in these orders barely a few hours before _two_ Slayers entered the building was setting off all kinds of alarm bells in his head.

This time, he intended to pay attention to the warning instead of nearly letting someone he cared about dying horribly.

He needed to find Angel.

He was on his way to do just that when he heard the fire alarm ring.

**~o~O~o~**

_[A transcript from an audio recording device in the Arms and Munitions office. The **FIRST VOICE** is, Ioan Cooper, the head of the sub-section. The **SECOND VOICE** is unknown at this exact time but is assumed to be one of the division's workers. No visual feed as the CCTV on the floor had been taken own due to ‘maintenance’ concerns. Investigation pending.]_

**FIRST VOICE:** Yes, what do you want?

 **SECOND VOICE:** We just had a red flag pop up under Charles Gunn's name. He asked for information regarding us and Portals and Gateways.

 **FIRST VOICE:** Shit. That's unfortunate but manageable. Are all of the components accounted for?

 **SECOND VOICE:** Yes and are in the process of being assembled. It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes.

 **FIRST VOICE:** (Concerned) That long? Gunn isn't just going to sit on this. He's not a complete idiot, you know?

 **SECOND VOICE:** Don't worry Sir, it's already been taken care of.

 **FIRST VOICE:** Explain.

 **SECOND VOICE:** It's been a while since our last fire drill Sir.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Medical Bay_ **

Buffy and Xander sat in a silence that was a good deal more comfortable than it had any right to be. They had hurt each other, used each other, betrayed each other and done much, much worse but, in the end, they were still friends.

‘For what it's worth,’ she said suddenly, breaking the silence, ‘I'm _really_ glad that you're alive.’

‘You know what?’ he asked without the slightest trace of irony, ‘For the first time in a _very_ long time; so am I. I actually helped saved someone for once.’

‘What about me?’ she asked. He looked at her curiously. ‘You saved me,’ she said, ‘Remember? Spring Fling?’ He laughed softly at the memory.

‘Oh yeah,’ he said, ‘All things considered, that was a pretty good night. The dance had pineapple punch.’

‘Seriously?’ she asked, not sure if he was joking or not, ‘That's the big highlight?’

‘I like pineapple punch,’ he defended, ‘Oh, yeah, there might have been that small incident where the world nearly ended but, come on, have some perspective, that was _really_ good punch.’ She burst out laughing. It wasn't that funny a joke but you wouldn't know given her reaction. ‘You alright there?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I'm fine,’ she said, ‘It's just been a really long while since I had a good laugh.’

‘You should do it more often,’ he said, ‘The whole brooding Slayer thing never really did anything for me.’

‘Meh,’ she replied flippantly, ‘At least I'll have that embarrassing emo period to look back on and repress when I'm all old and grey.’

Before he could say anything in reply the fire alarm sounded.

‘That's oddly timed,’ he noted before attempting to get out of the bed. _Attempting_ being the word used. He groaned in pain and collapsed back into the cushion.

‘Need any help?’ she asked, offering her hand.

‘All I can get,’ he replied dryly. She helped him up and assisted him with putting on his jacket before leading him out of the room. He stopped to get his cane. ‘Yes I use one of these now,’ he said.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Training Room_ **

_BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!_

‘What the bloody Hell is that?’ demanded Spike.

‘Haven't you ever heard of a fire alarm Spike?’ asked Angel, his tone clearly implying what little regard he had for the intelligence of his descendent.

‘Oh shut up Angel,’ snapped Spike, ‘Why don't you – _FRED!_ ’ All three men turned and looked at focus of Spike's concern. Fred was hunched over in the fetal position, her hands clasped firmly over her ears.

‘It's too loud,’ she sobbed, ‘It hurts.’

‘She's still adapting to her new senses,’ said Angel, all thoughts of mocking Spike forgotten, ‘We need to get her out of the building or turn off the alarm.’ Wesley picked her up and she leant on him as they left the room, the two vampires following close behind.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Wolfram & Hart Lobby_ **

Xander could see Wesley supporting Fred on his shoulder and he rushed over to them as fast as his wound would allow him. The ringing alarm mercifully abated for the moment.

‘What's wrong with her?’ he asked quickly.

‘I'm fine,’ she said and she got up on her own two feet, ‘Super hearing is not all that it's cracked up to be,’ she added ruefully. Spike and Angel were not too far behind. And then they stopped.

‘Buffy,’ they said in perfect unison.

‘Angel. _Spike?!_ ’ Her eyes widened in shock. _Both of them? Together? In the same room? Help?_ ‘You're alive,’ she burst out. She looked at Xander accusingly. ‘Is there anyone else alive that was supposed to be dead?’ she asked, clearly overwhelmed.

He was saved from answering by the timely arrival of Gunn.

‘Angel,’ he said urgently, ‘Something's come up.’

‘It can wait,’ he said tersely.

‘It _really_ can't,’ insisted Gunn, ‘Someone wants to kill Buffy.’

 _That_ got his attention.

From across the lobby, Willow and the others saw them and walked in their direction, wondering what was happening.

‘Remember how Arms and Munitions asked for funding to kill Slayers?’ Gunn asked. Angel nodded quickly.

‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘And we shut them down before they got started.’

‘I don't think they listened,’ Gunn replied, ‘Both groups have placed requisition orders for components of a Tonabi Extrapolator.’

‘That doesn't sound good,’ said Lorne, Willow and the others in tow, ‘Who has a Tonabi Extrapolator?’

‘Apparently Arms and Munitions,’ said Xander.

Everyone else was looking at Spike in shock.

‘Oh yeah,’ said Xander, ‘He's also alive – living dead – Well he's here.’

‘Yes, yes,’ said Angel quickly, ‘That's a talk for another day. This is serious.’ For once, Spike didn't argue, he too knew about the ‘discussion’ that Angel had had with the two sub-divisions. He looked over at Buffy.

‘We'll deal with this later,’ he told her, ‘But right now we have work to do. Take your friends and get them out of the building.’

‘Yeah, that's not happening,’ she said shoving past him. Everyone else moved with her, they weren't leaving when there was a fight to be had.’

‘We haven't got time for this,’ said Xander, ‘We all go. Fred, you go in front since your now currently our biggest hitter.’ Wesley started to object, saying that she needed rest when Fred cut him off with a look that could melt plastic.

‘I am _not_ a damsel in distress,’ she said definitely. With no more arguments, everybody followed after Gunn.

From the level below, Harmony could see them heading off into the hall. _When there's a fire?_ She headed after them, wanting to know what was happening for once.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Arms and Munitions_ **

‘Hey, Xander, wait up.’ Xander turned around to see Harmony running up to them. _Oh this is not a good time._ ‘What's going on?’ she asked once she caught up to them.

‘I'm not really sure,’ he answered, ‘Look, Harmony, later we need to talk. There's –’

He was interrupted by the sound of Angel kicking in the locked door.

‘Seriously?’ he asked incredulously, ‘We. Have. _Keys_.’

_Beat._

‘Oh yeah,’ said Angel, ‘Didn't think of that.’ Xander rolled his eyes. _I don't get paid enough._

‘Never mind,’ he said, ‘Let's just do this and go home.’ He turned to Harmony, ‘We'll talk later.’ She nodded, looking slightly worried. The words ‘we need to talk’ never bode well for anyone.

They all followed Angel into the darkly lit room, wondering what was going to happen.

Once they were in, a second door slammed down behind them, cutting them off from the exit. Afterwards, they were blinded when floodlights from the ceiling suddenly turned on. Buffy and Kennedy instinctively moved in front of Dawn. Kennedy knew that her girlfriend could look after herself. Angel and Spike immediately vamped out, Fred held up her fists like she had seen in the movies and Xander, Gunn and Wesley each pulled out a pair of pistols. Lorne and Dawn exchanged a look that said ‘We're really under classed here.’

‘Well this is certainly more than we expected,’ said a Welsh accented voice.

‘Ioan?’ said Angel in an annoyed voice, ‘What on Earth are you doing?’

‘Proving a point,’ he answered. Xander strained his eyes and, through the blinding light, he could see a person's outline. ‘What do you think of my work?’

‘I think I'd like it better if I could actually see it,’ said Angel sarcastically.

‘Fair point,’ responded who Xander assumed was Ioan, ‘I suppose it is a little over the top. Kill the lights.’ The room was plunged into darkness. ‘The _flood lights_ you idiot, now we can't see.’ The normal lights turned on and Xander could finally see the head of Arms and Munitions. He was a fairly normal looking man. Fair skin, dark hair (a little grey around the ears) and a straight nose. The only thing of note about him was the remote control in his right hand. Xander pointed his guns right at the man's head. ‘Seriously?’ asked Ioan, ‘Do you honestly think that little _toy_ is going to work in here?’ Xander pulled the triggers.

_Click._

‘Meh,’ he said, holstering his weapons, ‘Worth a try.’

‘You would have killed me,’ Ioan stated with amusement, ‘Interesting.’

‘If you say so,’ Xander said with a shrug, ‘Personally, I think it would have been more interesting if your head exploded but maybe that's just me.’ Wesley and Gunn also lowered their weapons.

‘Nah, I'm with Harris on that one,’ said Spike.

‘Now what's this about?’ demanded Angel, ‘I told you that the Slayers are off limits.’

‘And I ignored you,’ he said smugly, ‘The thing is boss, this whole ‘stay away from the Slayers’ thing would never fly in the old regime.’

‘That's the funny thing about the old regime,’ growled Angel, ‘It was _old._ ’

‘Yeah, I think we could manage better without you,’ he said, ‘So basically…. _BYE!_ ’ He hit a button on the controller and then there was a blinding flash of light.

**~o~O~o~**

They were all hurled to the ground roughly, bouncing and spinning until they came to a stop. The light was blinding.

No, hang on. It was a different kind of light. It was warm just like…

‘ _SUNLIGHT!_ ’ Angel and Spike frantically tried to cover themselves with their leather dusters until they realised something.

‘Why aren't I on fire?’ asked Spike, looking at his hands, ‘And why do I…?’ Both he and Angel fell to their knees clutching their chests in pain. Angel took in a deep gulp of air into his lungs…

‘I'm breathing,’ he said in amazement. He looked over at Spike who's lungs were also functioning.

‘Angel,’ said Spike with a mix of fear and wonder in his voice, ‘I think my heart is beating.’

‘Same here.’

‘Are we –’

‘Human.’

Both of them stood there in shock for a second before laughing and embracing each other happily before immediately stepping back with mutual looks of horror at their sudden display of affection. ‘Whoa that came out of nowhere,’ said Angel.

Buffy looked at them in shock. _Human? Both of them?_

Xander could hear a choking, gasping sound behind him. He spun around and saw Harmony on her knees, also unaffected by the sun, clawing at her chest with her nails, drawing blood. She was howling with grief and her skin was bleeding and raw from her scratching.

‘Hey, hey, hey stop that,’ he said sharply, grabbing her arms. She tried to fight him off but he held on and pulled her arms where she sobbed.

‘Get away from me!’ she screamed, ‘Don't look at me.’ Spike and Angel walked over to them to see what was happening before stopping dead in their tracks.

‘That's impossible,’ breathed Angel.

‘This whole situation's impossible,’ said Spike.

‘I don't get it. What's going on?’ demanded Angel.

‘ _I killed him_ ,’ she sobbed, ‘He begged me not to but I laughed as I watched the light leave his eyes.’ She buried her face in Xander's chest. ‘And she had kids, he was going to propose and I killed them all. _I killed them all!_ ’

‘Angel, _please_ tell me what's happening,’ Xander asked.

‘Harris,’ Angel said slowly, as though he could not quite believe his own words. ‘I think she has a soul.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to leave a comment and let me know what you liked, what you didn't, and what you'd like to see in the future


	11. "I can stand in the sun"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scoobies and and the Fang Gang are transported to a far off dimension where their abilities fail to work. Harmony makes a confession to Xander.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay between updates. I hope you enjoy this one.

They had been deposited onto a green, grassy hill. For the most part there was only grass with the occasional tree to break the monotony. In the near distance, it was possible to see the outline of pile of craggy rocks and boulders. It was also extremely windy, the gale forcing them to yell to be heard. Of course, none of them were paying attention to the scenery.

‘What do you mean?’ Xander was practically hyperventilating. He needed an answer. ‘Angel, please explain to me. How could she have a soul?’ Angele shook his head.

‘I don't know, Harris, I really don't understand what's happening. This is unprecedented.’ Xander turned to Spike.

‘Spike?’ he asked desperately, ‘Come on, you have to know something.’

‘I'm sorry, I don't know either.’ Spike looked uncharacteristically lost. Harmony continued to sob and beat at her chest. Buffy looked on, not knowing whether or not she should speak.

Wesley got to his feet before looking around the wind bashed hill.

‘Where is everybody else?’ he asked, ‘It’s only us here.’ Angel and Spike both looked up and, sure enough, Willow, Fred and the others were not with them.

**~o~O~o~**

_SPLASH!_

The first thing that Gunn had noticed was the water. They all appeared about three metres above it and, as humans have not yet mastered the art of flight, they quickly dropped like stones. It wasn't that deep; it only reached up to Dawn's shoulders.

‘Okay,’ Gunn said, taking command, ‘Is everyone alright?’

‘I'm good,’ said Dawn.

‘I'm fine,’ responded, Kennedy.

‘Still here,’ said Giles, holding onto his glasses so that they didn't get lost in the water.

‘Very wet and cold,’ said Willow.

‘Just fabulous,’ said Lorne sarcastically, blowing his nose with a waterlogged handkerchief.

Fred began to say, ‘I've been bett–’

They were then all covered by a wave, knocking them off their feet. When Gunn got to his feet he looked around and saw that they were on a beach with white sand and he could see cliffs to his left.

‘Come on, people,’ he directed, ‘Everyone get to the shore.’ They all waded out of the cold water and hurled themselves to the warm, soft sand.

Fred laid her hand on the sand, her wet brown locks shielding her eyes from the sun. Lorne sat himself down next to her, wringing the water out of his orange shirt.

‘Quite a landing huh?’ Despite the situation, Lorne’s voice was as melodious as ever.

‘If you say so,’ she said wearily, rubbing the bridge of her nose, ‘If you don't mind, I'm just going to sleep for the next few decades.’

‘Whatever you like, Mamma Smurf,’ he said before stopping. There was something he was missing, something right in front of him. _Ah, never mind. It'll come to me._

‘Who's here?’ Gunn asked, ‘Let's see. One, two, three, four, five, six and me makes seven. Where's Angel, Harris and everyone else?’

‘Wesley's gone?’ asked Fred, immediately getting up, her brown eyes filled with alarm. ‘We have to look for them,’ she said quickly. Gunn was quick to reassure her.

‘Of course we will, Fred, I'm not someone to overlook the obvious. Finding them is our first priority – Wait, _what_?’ He looked straight at Fred in confusion. Willow and Lorne also noticed what was wrong.

‘Fred,’ said Willow with a tone of wonder, ‘Your hair is…’

‘What she's trying to say is that you've lost the technicolour, sweet cheeks,’ explained Lorne. Fred's hands immediately went to her hair. She pulled out a strand so that she could examine it and, sure enough, it had lost the blue highlights. She looked down at her hands and they too had lost the alien colour.

‘How?’ It was all that she could ask.

‘I don't know,’ said Willow, unable to keep the shock out of her voice, ‘I-I can't… How?… I'm sorry, I just don't know how to explain it.’

‘What happened?’ Giles asked, walking over to see what the commotion was. He hadn't really paid any particular attention to her and didn't know about her condition.

‘She'd been infected by an Old One,’ explained Willow, ‘So Xander called me slow the infection rate long enough to save her.’

‘So that's why he called you?’ His sounded mildly curious. She nodded.

‘Yeah. He asked for help.’

‘So why does she appear undamaged?’ he asked, shelving the talk of Xander for a later time.

‘I don't know. I don't – _OH MY GOD!_ ’ Willow shrieked with horror.

‘What?’ asked Gunn, surprised by her outburst. She pointed up to the sky in shock.

‘The sun! The sun is up! They can't survive that!’ Gunn and Lorne immediately exchanged a horrified look.

‘I'm sure they're okay,’ said Giles quickly, ‘They both wear those absurd looking long coats. If they're fast, which they always are, they could cover themselves adequately.’

‘Yes,’ said Gunn, obviously unconvinced but clinging to any hope, ‘That makes sense.’

‘What should we do?’ Dawn asked, still glancing up at the sky with a concerned expression.

‘First thing we should do is find out where we are,’ suggested Kennedy, ‘Then maybe we'd have a better idea on where the others might be. What happened anyway? How'd we get here?’

‘It was a Tonabi Extrapolator,’ explained Gunn, ‘Nasty little device for one-shot dimension jumps.’

‘We're in another dimension?’ Kennedy was incredulous.

‘Yeah,’ he confirmed, ‘I just have no idea which one. That’s the problem, there’s an infinite number of them.’

‘Hang on a tic,’ said Lorne, ‘If this is a different dimension, maybe this sun won't hurt Angel and Spike. Remember Pylea?’

‘Who could forget?’ Fred flashed a quick, tight grin. ‘Although I didn't know he was a vampire at the time.’

‘Okay,’ said Kennedy, ‘Good news as that may be, I still reckon we should find shelter. If this world is anything like Earth, than the position of the sun indicates that it's only a few hours til nightfall and I don't think that this place offers that much security.’ Gunn nodded in agreement.

‘I agree with – I'm sorry, I don't know your name,’ he said.

‘Kennedy,’ she offered.

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘I'm with Kennedy, the sooner we find out where we are, the sooner we can look for the others. They shouldn't be too far though; a Tonabi Extrapolator doesn't have a wide radius for a landing point. In fact, it probably wasn't intentional to split us up, it may have just happened.’

‘I just hope we find them quickly,’ said Dawn.

**~o~O~o~**

‘One thing's for certain,’ shouted Buffy over the gale, ‘We can't stay here, wherever here is.’ Wesley and Angel nodded in agreement.

‘How about we make for the craggy area over there?’ suggested Spike, ‘It'd at least get us out of wind. Might even be a cave if we’re lucky.’

‘It looks like it'll be dark soon so that place is as good as any for shelter,’ yelled Wesley. He looked down at Xander, still cradling the distraught Harmony in his arms. Xander looked up at him, a million questions in his eye. He then looked back down at the girl he was holding.

‘Harmony.’ His voice was as gently as possible whilst also trying to be heard over the wind, ‘Come on, you have to get up. We have to get out of here.’ She didn't say anything in response so he picked her up and carried her. ‘Come on,’ he said to the others, ‘If we go now we can make there in under half an hour.’

They were silent as they walked, the loud gale limited casual conversation and, besides, no-one really felt like talking anyway, they were each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Harmony had calmed down in Xander's arms, her head resting on his shoulder and her breathing had slowed down to gentle risings and fallings of her chest.

When they finally got there, they found a small cave opening and quickly rushed inside, finally free from the gusting wind. The sky had now become an inky purple and was growing darker by the second. Buffy sat down, feeling more tired than she felt she should, on any other day she could have continued for hours. She just felt wiped out.

‘There's some small trees outside,’ said Wesley, ‘If I cut some branches we could make a fire. Spike, you have a lighter, right?’ Spike nodded and silently produced his zippo and the pair walked outside to tear off some branches to use for kindling.

Angel looked over at Buffy, completely unsure of what to say. In fact, he was sure that they had not actually exchanged a single line of dialogue since running into each other. Seeing as she didn't seem in the mood for talking, preferring to sit down and look at her knees, he walked over to Xander who was still attending to Harmony.

‘How is she?’ he asked.

‘Asleep.’ Xander’s voice was numb. ‘I don't know what to do. Was it like this when it happened to you? Sorry if that’s personal.’

‘It’s fine.’ Angel shrugged philosophically. ‘I was worse, _way_ worse. But, then again, I _was_ worse. She’s only been without a soul for a few years so it might be easier for her.’

Spike and Wesley returned, each carrying a bundle of sticks, stones and some dry grass. After several attempts, they finally produced a decent sized blaze.

‘What should I do?’ Xander asked his boss.

‘Just stay with her. Be with her. You’ll have to watch her. She might try to harm herself and you have to stop her.’ Spike walked over to them and sat down next to Xander.

‘It's not gonna be pleasant, Harris,’ he said not un-kindly, ‘But we are here and we'll try to help.’

Buffy watched the three men talking with interest. Wesley sat down next to her.

‘I thought it was strange too,’ he said, ‘When I first saw him in Los Angeles, he _hated_ them and now he's asking them for advice.’

‘How did that happen?’ she asked.

‘Not entirely sure if I’m being honest.’

‘And what happened here?’ She nodded at him, ‘Last time I saw you… Well, no offence, but I didn't see you like this.’ His lips tightened briefly as he remembered what an _ass_ he had been in his younger days.

‘I don't know,’ he said, ‘I suppose when one hangs around Angel, one feels the need to improve.’

‘So Xander works for you now?’ she asked him.

‘Xander works _with_ me. He's certainly a far cry from his days in Sunnydale but, then again, I suppose we all are. Oh, I heard about your recent work in Switzerland. I thought that was very impressive.’

‘You heard about that?’ she asked, obviously pleased by the recognition.

‘I took a professional curiosity. By the way, whatever was inside the vault? There were all these rumours about what Lord Crawford was keeping in there. My favourite was that he had the Apple of Eden.’ Buffy laughed cheekily.

‘Nothing so dramatic, sadly. Just _lots_ of money. Cash, bullion and jewellery.’

‘Oh is that all?’ he snarked, ‘What did you do with it?’

‘Well, we have to pay rent and Crawford didn’t have any use for it once we were done with him. It would have been awful to just leave it there not helping anyone. It will keep us for at least six years and by then we plan to have some legitimate earnings. Kennedy, Willow's girlfriend, has been trying to set up a Slayer Bodyguard thing for the rich and elite. Whilst I'm not a huge fan of Slayers doing that kind of work, it would pay well as well as legitimising Slayers to the public.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Am I the only one who thinks that this feels a little too convenient?’ Kennedy gestured around the room as they all sat down at the table. ‘I mean, come on, what are the odds of us being jumped to another dimension that just _happens_ to have humans?’

‘It's not that far-fetched,’ said Lorne, ‘Your world isn't the only place with humans.’

After an hour of walking down the coast, they had come across a small town, just big enough to not count as a village. It looked like something out of movie set in Victorian times with thatched roofs and cobbled roads. To their shock, it was populated entirely by very normal looking people going about their very normal business. Realising that Lorne might attract attention with his less than conventional appearance, Gunn and he swapped shirts and the green skinned demon kept his hood up and his face down.

‘It sure was lucky you were wearing a hoodie,’ Willow had said.

‘Yeah, _real_ lucky,’ Gunn grumbled, now wearing a bright orange shirt with purple poker dots, ‘I look ridiculous.’

The grouped had walked around until they found an inn and they bartered Giles' pocket watch for food and board for the next few days. They all (save Lorne who preferred to hide in one of the rooms) went down to the taproom and asked around if anyone had seen people matching the descriptions of Angel, Xander and the others. Despite their effort, they were unable to find anyone who new anything. However, they were able to find out some other useful titbits of information like that the town was called Bendal, the country of Galderal. The country was at war with the neighbouring country of Ventzia, the fight now entering its fourth year. They also learned that, due to the war, refugees had been flooding in which explained why their strange clothes were not commented on. The town people simply assumed that they were foreigners, which was _technically_ true.

It was now dark so they went upstairs and all entered the room that Giles, Gunn and Lorne would be sharing. ‘This is a completely unknown world,’ said Giles, ‘So none of us should venture outside after dark. Tomorrow we will split up into groups and search for the others.’ Once they had said everything that needed to be said, the girls moved out to the room next door that they would be sharing.

‘Do you think that they're okay?’ Dawn asked once the lights were out.

‘I'm sure they'll be fine,’ said Kennedy from across the room, ‘Spike's with them and he can throw a hell of a punch.’

‘I still can't believe that he's alive. Him and Xander. They were dead just a few days ago. We barely got any time to say anything before this happened.’

‘Just focus on the positives,’ Kennedy replied, ‘They're alive, and that's all that matters.’

‘I guess you're right,’ said Dawn finally, ‘Good night everyone. I’m going to head upstairs.’

**~o~O~o~**

_The man struggled vainly against the manacles that bound him to the wall. He was whimpering, softly pleading for life. It was_ so _annoying, it was putting her off her dinner._

‘ _Spike,’ she said plaintively, ‘He won't shut up. It's very distracting.’_

 _Spike rolled his eyes in annoyance as he looked up from his book._ Always when I'm reading, _he thought._

‘ _I'll fix it for you, pet,’ he said, standing up and walking over to them._

‘ _No, no, please!’ begged the man, ‘I have a family – Aarrgghh!’ Spike slammed his head back into the wall and it cracked like a rotten egg._

‘ _There, all better.’_

‘ _You're the best,’ she said appreciatively before placing her mouth over the crack in his head and drinking deeply._

Xander was immediately woken by the whimpering next to him. He turned over saw Harmony crying into her hands.

‘Hey, hey, come here,’ he said, pulling her to him. In front of him, he could see Buffy had been woken by the commotion but he touched a finger to his lips, silently asking her not to speak.

‘Can I ask you something?’ Harmony’s voice was brittle.

‘Of course.’

‘Before we came here, you said we needed to talk. What about?’ she asked. Buffy looked on intently, remembering the conversation she and Xander had in the medical bay. Hey eyes locked with Xander's single one and, for a moment, he didn't say anything.

‘Nothing major,’ he said finally, ‘I just wanted to thank you for what you've done for me over the past two months. For looking after me, curbing me, giving me something good in my life. I was gonna – When we get back, what do want to do? Anything you want.’

‘Why are you trying so hard to save me?’ she asked.

‘Because, Harmony Kendall, you are _worth_ saving.’

There was an interesting display of emotion on her face. It started as misery, then it changed into confusion, then shock and then, finally… hope. She then kissed him on the mouth. She then broke the kiss and looked at him intently.

‘I love you,’ she said, ‘No matter what happens when we get back, I want you to know that.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘ _Willow.’_

Willow's eyes opened. She had heard her name called. She looked to her side and saw Kennedy sleeping peacefully. It hadn't been her.

_‘Willow.’_

There it was again. She got up out of the bed, careful not to wake Kennedy, and softly walked out of the room.

‘ _Willow.’_

She followed the voice down the hall, down the stairs and out the door. It was cold and misty outside, the fog glowing brightly in the moonlight. The only other source of illumination was a gas lamp about twenty metres to her left.

‘ _Willow.’_

She turned around and gasped in shock. Her mouth hung open, unable to close, unable to scream, unable to do _anything._

She might have stood there, dumbfounded, for decades or for only five seconds, either one might have matched what she thought.

What she saw was not a monster nor was it a stranger. She knew this person so well.

‘Tara?’ she whispered in astonishment.

**~o~O~o~**

‘ _I love you’_

Harmony had said those words to him over an hour ago and still they were rummaging around in his head, not sure if they should move into ‘comfortable’ territory or ‘uncomfortable’ territory. He would be lying if he told himself that he was not fond of the sleeping girl in his arms but _love?_ It had only been eleven months since the Battle of Sunnydale, only eleven months since Anya… He had been too slow to love then but that didn't mean that he should rush into it now. He needed advice. Words of wisdom from someone he trusted.

Giles immediately sprung to mind but he almost snorted derisively. Giles had never been that kind of person in the past, why would he start now?

Buffy? He glanced over at the sleeping Slayer. No, things were still too raw to discuss something serious like this.

He thought of Fred. Yes, she would be perfect except for the fact that she was… Actually he wasn't entirely sure where she was so that ruled her out.

He briefly touched on the idea of either Angel or Spike. They were both (or had recently been) ensouled vampires but he eventually he ruled them out. He really wasn't that close to Angel, despite being part of the ‘Fang Gang’ he and the brooding CEO hadn't really exchanged that many words outside of his first day and the night after he was shot and Spike… Well, he didn't really _hate_ him anymore but… No, just no. Not happening.

And then it came to him.

‘Wesley? Are you awake,’ he whispered after gently lowering Harmony to the ground. His boss' eyes wearily opened. ‘Oh you _are_ awake,’ Xander said casually, ‘Good, I need your advice.’

‘Xander, I am going to kill you,’ he replied in an annoyed tone of voice. He lifted himself into a sitting position. ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘What's the problem?’ Xander didn't say anything. ‘Seriously?’ Wesley asked, ‘You wake me up for advice and then say nothing?’

‘It's difficult to force these talks,’ Xander replied defensively. ‘Oh okay,’ he said finally, ‘If you must know, it's Harmony.’

‘Obviously,’ said Wesley, ‘And you don't know how react, not only to her having a soul, but to her in general and you now want me to tell you to stay with her or to not stay with her.’

‘Yes,’ said Xander, ‘Tell me what to do. That would be great.’

‘No.’

‘No?’

‘No.’

‘What?’

‘It means no.

‘I mean, why?’ responded Xander, ‘Telling me what to do is your _job_.’

‘It’s not exactly a work day and, even if it was, I wouldn't do it anyway.’

‘Why not?’ Xander asked.

‘Because it's your life,’ he answered, ‘I'm not going to live it for you. But I will give you a piece of advice; be very honest no matter what you do. Trust me on that.’

**~o~O~o~**

This was impossible. Tara was dead. She had watched her die, literally no more than three feet from her and yet, somehow, she was standing right in front of Willow.

‘How?’ Tears were streaming down Willow’s face.

‘I haven't got much time,’ Tara said urgently, ‘Listen, Willow, you have to get the others and leave this world.’

‘W-we don't know how,’ she stammered, ‘I could try a spell–’

‘I don’t think that will work,’ Tara said, taking a few steps forward, ‘Your magic won't work here Willow, not for a while anyway. This world works by different rules. Everything from our world returns to its original condition for as long as it's here. That's why your friend Fred looks normal and Buffy won't have access to her Slayer abilities. Tell the others not to worry about Angel and the others, the sun won't affect them because they're human here.’

‘That's good,’ said Willow numbly, ‘How are you here?’

‘This world is a sort of… I dunno – magnet for the other surrounding dimensions,’ she explained awkwardly, ‘It's also why this place looks like something from Earth, people were dragged here centuries ago. Creatures from other dimensions as well. All sorts of flotsam and jetsom washes up here. That’s why I can appear to you, the barriers are weaker here.’ Willow reached out a hand to touch her face but it passed through her. ‘I'm dead to you,’ said Tara sadly, ‘No, no, no, it's okay,’ she said quickly when Willow began to cry softly, ‘I _am_ dead to you. You should move on.’ Willow's eyes guiltily shifted to the second level of the inn. ‘Willow, it's okay,’ Tara said, ‘You were _never_ supposed to be alone and, damn me, but I like Kennedy. I think she's good for you. She's strong and, despite her faults, she _loves_ you.’

‘Thank you,’ Willow whispered, still unable to control the tears.

‘You have to find the others and leave this place as soon as possible,’ said Tara, ‘It's not safe for you. There's… something here. I'm not being intentionally vague, I simply don't know what it is. All I have is a general feeling that something is coming for you, you _specifically_ and I don't want you here when it happens.’ She looked behind her for a moment, seeing something that Will could not. ‘I have to go,’ she said, ‘Tell the others what happened. _Make_ them listen. If I don't' get another chance, please remember that I love you. I will always love you.’ Her form then evaporated into nothingness.

‘I love you too, baby,’ said Willow to the air before falling down on her knees and sobbing like a toddler.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Okay,’ said Spike, ‘I'm hungry.’

‘We know,’ said Wesley irritably, ‘That's the sixth time you've said so.’

‘Hey, it's not my fault! This hunger thing is all new to me. I don't know how you humans deal with this.’

‘ _We_ humans,’ Buffy corrected while stretching out. She felt like she had slept on stone… which she had done. Well, anyway, she felt sore and stiff. ‘Welcome to the human world. Please feel free to enjoy all of the perks such as hunger, bruises and blisters.’

Angel didn't say anything. He still remembered that day four years ago. The day that never was. The day he became human. He had spent it with Buffy and it was the _best_ day of his life but she didn't remember it. He didn't know how to approach he now. She had come to see a friend and he was now with Nina.

_Nina._

His thoughts guiltily went to the werewolf back in L.A. He really shouldn't be thinking on rekindling an old flame when he had a real girlfriend. He was better than that. Wasn't he?

He _was_ better than that.

He walked over to Buffy, who was now finished with her stretching but was still rotating her shoulder.

‘You okay?’ he asked her.

‘Yeah I'm fine.’ Buffy was _not_ a good liar. ‘I just feel stiff all over.’

‘We all do,’ he said.

‘But I shouldn't,’ she said, ‘I never feel sore in the morning unless there was some serious action the night before.’ She paused for a moment as she realised how that sounded. ‘Um, I mean fighty actiony stuff, not the other… stuff kind of action.’

‘I got that,’ he said awkwardly.

‘Oh, uh okay.’

‘I'm seeing someone.’ It took him a few seconds to realise that he had actually said that out loud. _There, like ripping off a Band-Aid. Wait! That was too sudden. Okay, I'd like to retract that statement please. PLEASE?!_

‘Oh, uh – that's nice.’ She did not sound that enthusiastic. ‘How long?’

‘About a month.’

‘Is it serious?’

‘I think it is. It’s new but I really like her.’

‘Alright.’ Her voice was toneless. ‘That's good to hear.’

‘I just wanted to make that perfectly clear from the get go. Is this a problem? God, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to do the right thing and be open about this.’ Buffy smiled gently at him.

‘Angel.’ She put a hand on his shoulder. ‘It's fine. We had our thing. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything but I think our ship sailed a while ago.’ He smiled a little sadly at that.

‘I suppose so. Look, I know that this is a cliché but can we still be…?’

‘Yes,’ she interrupted, ‘Obviously.’ His smile became a little less sad.

‘Well, that's something.’

Xander knelt down next to Harmony and gently shook her awake.

‘Come on, gorgeous, we're heading out now.’ She grunted painfully as she stretched out her frozen joints.

‘Oh _god_ , that’s painful. How do you manage doing walking around in these fragile, little bodies all the time?’ She rotated her neck with an audible click.

‘With copious amount of caffeine and alcohol.’ He slid behind her, massaging her around the neck.

‘Oh, that’s good,’ she sighed appreciatively before her tone became quizzical. ‘How did I get here?’ she asked.

‘I carried you here,’ he said, ‘I looked totally badass while doing so.’

‘How?’

‘What do you mean ‘how?’ The hero carrying the damsel always looks cool.’

‘You have a bullet wound to the chest,’ she said, ‘Shouldn't that have hurt you?’ He cocked his head in surprise.

‘Oh my god, how did I not notice that?’ he exclaimed before peeling up his shirt to check. There was no longer a wound on his chest. It was completely untouched except for the now unnecessary stiches still stuck into the flesh. ‘Hey guys,’ he said, ‘Look at this.’ They all crowded around and look on with amazement.

‘Xander,’ said Buffy suddenly, ‘Take off your eye patch.’ He stood perfectly still. ‘What's the matter?’ she asked.

‘I can't,’ he said, ‘What if it's not…? I couldn't… I can't.’ His hand started twitching uncontrollably. Harmony took it in hers and the shaking stopped.

‘It's okay,’ she said softly, ‘I get it, I _really_ get it. You're scared to be hopeful because you feel if it doesn't work out it will hurt that much more. But you have to ask yourself something; what if it _does_ work out?’ He exhaled slowly before nodding, really just a jerking spasm of the neck. She gently reached up and pulled off the band wrapped around his head, taking the patch along with it. And then she gasped. ‘You're actually kind of beautiful.

Xander looked at her with both eyes misting up slightly before holding her head in his hands and kissing her deeply.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Tara appeared before you?’ asked Giles intently. Willow nodded.

‘I know how this sounds,’ she said, ‘But I'm not crazy, I saw her and what she said did make sense. I have no magic. Giles, try to cast a spell if you don't believe me.’

            ‘It's okay, I believe you, it's just a lot to take in.’

‘Did she say anything about the others?’ asked Fred, clearly wanting news regarding Wesley. Willow shook her head.

‘I'm sorry,’ she said, ‘She only said that Angel and Spike are human as long as they are in this world.’

            ‘Anything else?’ asked Kennedy in a strange voice.

‘Only that… Only that she loved me.’ Willow’s voice was strained.

‘Oh.’ It was all she could say. ‘Okay, um, I'm gonna go head on down and see how breakfast is doing.’ She quickly got up and left the room. Willow rose to follow but Dawn held up a hand.

‘I think it would be better if I took this one,’ she said before following the Slayer out the doorway. She found Kennedy out behind the inn sitting on a pile of crates, fiddling with some twigs. ‘You doing okay?’ she asked

‘Yeah,’ she said sullenly, ‘Hunky Dory.’

‘Hey, Kennedy,’ Dawn said, ‘It's me. Oh come on, talk to me.’ Kennedy didn't say anything. ‘Alrighty,’ said Dawn, ‘I'll just fill in for you. You're feeling upset that what may have been the ghost of Willow's old girlfriend made an appearance. You feel like you're nothing more than a replacement for her. On top of that, you're also probably feeling lousy for feeling like that; it's a difficult time for Willow and you shouldn't be thinking stuff like that. This just adds to the general crappyness you're feeling right now. Is that about right?’ Kennedy actually cracked a smile.

‘You're smarter than we give you credit for,’ she said finally, ‘You're right; that's _exactly_ how I feel and I know that I'm a bitch for thinking that but… What is the appropriate response? What am I supposed to feel?’

‘Exactly what you're feeling,’ said Dawn immediately, ‘I get it. It's a really sucky situation and you're reacting exactly the same way that anyone else would. You love Willow and you're afraid of losing her.’ She put an arm around the older girl's shoulder. ‘It's gonna be okay,’ she said.

‘You're feeling pretty smug with your half a semester of a Psych degree, aren't you?’ she snarked. Dawn scoffed lightly.

‘Oi, watch it,’ she shot back, playfully shoving her, ‘You haven't got any fancy-shmancy Slayer powers in this dimension. I reckon I could take you.’

‘You think so, Summers?’ Kennedy replied, returning the shove.

‘About 72% sure,’ she said.

**~o~O~o~**

‘I hate to say this,’ said Wesley, ‘But I'm starting to agree with Spike, we are going to have to find something to eat.’

‘So I'm right?’ Spike asked brightly.

‘Shut up Spike, we're not having a moment.’ He turned around to address the others. ‘One thing's for certain,’ he said, ‘We can't stay here. We'll end up trying to eat the rocks if we do.’ He checked his watch. ‘It's been almost three hours; Angel and Xander should be coming back any second.’ The two had elected to go out and scout around and see if there was any settlement or, more importantly, anything edible. Both Wesley and Buffy couldn't help but wonder how that would go; the two had _never_ been friends.

‘So which direction should we go?’ asked Buffy, ‘North, South, East or West? We don't know what's in any of those directions.’

‘We go East,’ said Angel, entering the cave, Xander following close behind. It's only about an hour to the coast and there appears to be a small settlement there but that's not the strangest thing.’

‘They're all human,’ said Xander, ‘Not rubber headed Star Trek aliens or humanish but _actual_ humans.’ After he finished speaking, he immediately walked over to Harmony who was sitting alone at the back of the cave.

‘It looks like something from 1880s England,’ said Angel, exchanging a look with Spike. Both men had toured the rainy island that decade which ended with them running for their lives, chased out of London by an angry mob that Spike had provoked.

‘Okay,’ said Buffy, ‘If that's the closest settlement odds are that Willow, Dawn and the others would head there. You said that the machine that sent us here only had a limited range, right?’ Angel nodded.

‘Yeah,’ he confirmed, ‘And given the limited range, it's unlikely that they were not all together when they landed so that's something at least.’

‘Hey gorgeous,’ said Xander to Harmony, ignoring the discussion the others were having, ‘Miss me?’ He pecked her lightly on the cheek.

‘You're a cocky one,’ she said, her smile stealing any edge from the words, ‘For your information, I can last a couple of hours without being in your presence.’

‘Yeah but it must have been sheer _torture_ for you.’ His tone was light, cheeky. She laughed but then her expression then became pensive.

‘About last night,’ she said slowly, ‘I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable.’

‘Hey,’ he said, putting an arm around her, ‘It's fine. It was… unexpected, I'll admit that. I honestly didn't think I would ever hear anyone ever say that to me again.’

‘Good unexpected, bad unexpected?’ she asked, chewing her lip nervously.

‘Definitely good,’ he said, squeezing her shoulder. He looked up at the others who were still talking. ‘So, what do you say?’ he asked, ‘You ready for an excruciatingly long walk with little in the way of interesting stuff to look at?’

‘That's not entirely true,’ she said pointing at the exit. He followed her finger but couldn't see anything.

‘What?’ he asked, ‘What am I missing?’ She didn't say anything; she just took him by the hand and led him out of the cave. He was standing outside and she was just in the entrance. ‘What?’ he repeated. She held out her other hand and thrust it into the sunlight.

‘I can look up and see the sunlight,’ she said, ‘And I don't have to look at it through special glass. I can… I can stand in the light.’ She walked out a few paces and held out her arms, soaking up the sunlight.

‘I guess didn't think of it like that,’ he said.

‘You wouldn't,’ she said, ‘Why would you? It's always been part of your world as it was part of mine. Ironically, it seems you only really learn to value something when you lose it.’ He laughed suddenly. ‘What?’ she asked.

‘I was just thinking,’ he said playfully, ‘The sun's out, it's windy, we're on a grassy plain, let's spin kiss like they do in the old movies.’

‘Okay,’ she said smiling just as playful.

Buffy watched the pair from inside the cave, Wesley standing at her side.

‘What do you think of them?’ she asked.

‘I'm two minds on that,’ he said, ‘On one hand, I think he's in danger of being hurt, on the other… Well look at them.’ Buffy actually laughed when Xander picked Harmony up and spun her around.

‘What a dork,’ she said, still laughing. Angel and Spike walked up to them.

‘We heading out now?’ asked Spike.

‘Yes,’ answered Wesley, ‘As long Benedick and Beatrice are done here.’ Obviously the reference went over the Slayer's head.

‘Who and who?’ she asked. Wesley, Angel and Spike just… looked at her. And kept looking at her. ‘Sorry?’ she said, ‘Didn't get the reference.’

‘We'll forgive it just this once,’ said Wesley, ‘Let's go all.’

‘Oi, Harris!’ Spike called out, grinning broadly, ‘Drop the broad and come on! We're heading off.’

**~o~O~o~**

Kennedy found Willow alone upstairs in their room, sitting on one of the beds.

‘Hey,’ she said quietly, ‘Is it alright if I come in?’

‘Of course,’ said Willow, ‘Why wouldn't it be?’ Kennedy sat down next to her on the bed.

‘I-I'm sorry about how I acted before,’ she said, ‘I understand that that may have been difficult for you and I shouldn't have been acting selfishly.’ Willow laughed before taking her hands.

‘Kennedy, chill,’ she said, ‘I get it completely but don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.’ She then wagged her eyebrows at her and threw her down on the bed.

‘Right now?’ Kennedy asked, ‘You're insatiable.’ Willow kissed her and all thoughts left her head.

Willow had not kissed her on the _mouth._

**~o~O~o~**

According to Angel, they were almost halfway to the coast, he recognised some of the landmarks; a pile of boulders, some trees and a freshwater pond. They all rushed forward to wet their parched throats, they hadn't had a drink since coming to this world.

‘Shouldn't be too long,’ said Angel, ‘No more than half an hour from here.’

‘Hey can anyone hear something?’ asked Buffy.

‘Yes,’ said Wesley, ‘I hear it too. It sounds almost like –’

From around the boulders they saw a group of almost a dozen riders come into view. Behind them was a four horse carriage with the windows covered on the inside with black cloth. Like Xander and Angel had said, the people of this world did appear to be very similar to the people of the Victorian era. These men were clearly soldiers, going by the muskets and uniforms. In fact, the only thing that seemed to visually set them apart from their Earth counterparts was that their uniforms were navy blue as opposed to the blood red of the British.

In one swift motion they pointed their weapons straight at the tired group.

‘Hold your hands up!’ one of them commanded. Seeing as none of them were currently bullet proof (anymore), they all immediately complied. Both Xander and Wesley had several firearms secreted about their person but they knew that they would have no chance of reaching for them without being hit. The one who had spoken was wearing a more elaborate uniform and was older than the others (about early thirties, the men were early twenties at most) so it seemed fair to assume that he was in charge. He had long brown hair and a long moustache that practically screamed Disney villain. ‘Who are you?’ he demanded loudly. Xander stepped forward.

‘My name is Alexander Harris,’ he said, keeping his eyes on the carriage, ‘These are my friends, we've heard that there was a town not too far from here so we're headed there.’

‘Bendal?’ the man asked.

‘If that's its name then yes,’ Xander answered, ‘Not to be rude or anything but who are you?’ The other soldiers all went deathly pale and their faces took on a look of shock. Wesley slapped his face in annoyance.

‘Why are we letting him talk?’ Spike whispered to Angel.

‘Not sure,’ he replied, ‘Too scared to talk.’

‘How do you not know who I am?’ the man asked hotly.

‘Bit of a hermit,’ said Xander sheepishly.

‘A hermit with friends?’ he asked sceptically.

‘Hermit's Guild,’ proclaimed Xander proudly, ‘We're sort of a club that meets up every seven years and swap stories about no social life. It's a lot of fun, for a hermit anyway.’ Two of the soldiers discreetly sniggered behind their hands.

‘I am Lord Gaston d'Ibelin,’ he declared as though his name should have an impact on the impetuous young man smirking up at him.

‘Alright, _my lord_ ,’ said Xander, bowing lowly with his hands behind his back. He then turned around to the others. ‘Bow down to the nice man,’ he said. He locked eyes with Wesley and slightly jerked his head. Wesley's eyes widened momentarily before nodding, he saw what Xander had just done. He had used the movement of the bow to hide the fact that he had reached for his gun and was now hiding it under his jacket. It wouldn't take any effort to take out the arrogant, posturing jackass on the horse, the only problem was the other riders. He bowed and, after a second, the others mimicked him, Harmony curtsied prettily which was quite an accomplishment as she was shaking. She was, after all, the only on with absolutely no combat training. In the past she had just relied on her vampire abilities.

‘Do you want to know what I think?’ Gaston asked.

‘Not really,’ said Xander, ‘But I get the feeling you're probably going to tell me anyway.’

‘I think you're Ventzian spies,’ he said, ‘Why else would you look so unusual?’ _You have a moustache like that and you're saying I'm unusual?_

‘I'm no expert in espionage Mr… Forgot your name, sorry,’ said Xander, ‘But isn't the whole point of spying to stay inconspicuous? I mean, come on, look at us? Do we look local? Our accents are different, our clothes are different and I'm not showing you any sort of courtesy. What kind of spy would do that?’

‘Ooooh I like this one,’ said a voice from the carriage. The door was flung open and a pale, little girl with long black hair climbed out. She was wearing a clearly expensive dress and could not have been more than twelve.

‘Princess!’ d'Ibelin barked, ‘Get back into the carriage at once!’ She poked her tongue out at him before looking back at Xander.

‘Your clothes look funny,’ she said bluntly. He leant over to her, not noticing that every gun just got pointed at her.

‘It's to confuse my enemies,’ he whispered conspiratorially, ‘They spend so much time laughing at me that they forget that we're supposed to be fighting.’

‘Oh so there is a reason,’ she said seriously, ‘It's okay if there is a reason.’

‘Princess Anwen,’ said d'Ibelin through clenched teeth, ‘I must insist on you returning back to the carriage.’

‘We're not married yet so I don't have to do what you tell me,’ she said, ‘Now shut up, I'm _talking._ ’ _We're not married yet?_ Xander mused on what the child just said. His recent experiences in Africa might have made him somewhat biased but he was positive that he didn't approve of what he just heard.

‘Well I can see you picked a winner there,’ he said. She was going to say something when she stopped and looked at the pond. She wasn't the only one; d'Ibelin and the other soldiers were also looking at it. Xander looked around and saw that pond had become completely still, not a single ripple, and had now glazed over.

‘Get back into the carriage,’ d'Ibelin repeated and, this time, the little girl didn't argue. She ran back as fast as her little legs would allow her with two of the men accompanying her.

‘I don't understand,’ said Xander, ‘What's going on?’ He wasn't in the dark for too long as the pond shone for a moment before thirty screaming men came charging out of it.

‘Ventzia!’ one of them screamed. As one, they rushed for the carriage but were intercepted by Angel, Spike and Wesley. d'Ibelin and the riders also charged into the fray after firing a volley with their muskets. Unlike the others, Xander didn't have a sword but he did have guns. He shot the closest man in the forehead and he went down straight away. He grabbed the axe that the now dead man had been carrying and ran back to the carriage.

‘Stay behind me,’ he said to Anwen and she nodded. ‘And cover your eyes.’ He could see that Buffy was doing the same for Harmony and he made a mental note to thank her later. A man in full armour moved towards him and attacked him with an overhead. Xander parried and aimed for the neck but he missed and the blow deflected of the armoured shoulder. He jumped back to avoid a horizontal slash and then dropped the axe and grabbed the man's weapon hand. There was a small gap between the hand and the wrist so he squeezed and the man dropped his sword. Xander shoved him and he fell over on his back, unable to get up due to the weight of his armour. Xander then pulled up the man's visor and stabbed him through the eye with his knife. ‘You can open your eyes now,’ he said to Anwen, standing in front of her so she would be spared the grisly sight. He looked around and could see that the fight was almost over, the ambushers had clearly expected to outnumber their quarry two-to-one, they hadn't banked on Xander and his companions.

Now what kind of mess had they stumbled into? He was sure he wasn't going to like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to leave a comment.


	12. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both groups attempt to navigate this strange new world. Xander tries to make a new ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I am so sorry for the delay in updating but I assure you I have the most dazzling of excuses, my laptop broke down and I was overseas and could not get it repaired. I am so sorry for that but things will be back to normal now.

‘I suppose I owe you an apology.’ d'Ibelin’s voice came out stiffly, as though the words made him physically ill, ‘I was in error and you have my gratitude for protecting my betrothed.’

‘Think nothing of it,’ said Xander easily before his voice took on an enquiring tone, ‘What was that all about? And how did they get the water to do… well, whatever it was that they did?’

‘You really don't know?’

‘Haven't the foggiest,’ Xander replied.

‘They were Ventzian soldiers,’ said d'Ibelin, ‘The Ventzians possess some sort of wizardry that allows them to alter the laws of reality itself. That was an example of their _perversion._ ’

‘So, you're at war with them.’ It was a statement, not a question.

‘One of their diplomats assassinated our king's son Prince Guy four years ago,’ said d'Ibelin, ‘They then issued declarations of war against our land. We never were able to determine why, we had been at peace for decades before.’

‘Was this Prince Guy, that little girl's brother?’ Xander asked.

‘Yes. And her correct way of Address is Princess Anwen or Her Highness.’

‘I'm sorry to hear that,’ said Xander, ‘I don't mean to overstep any boundaries but this land is a complete mystery to us. Is there any chance that we can accompany you to this Bendal place you mentioned?’ d'Ibelin looked surprised at the boy's boldness, he _had_ to be a foreigner, no-one native to this land would dare address him in such a manner. It was oddly refreshing.

‘You fought to defend our princess,’ he said, ‘So, by our customs, I cannot deny you sanctuary. Also, the girl's father will be meeting us there and he will be interested in seeing you. You will also have lodgings until you move on. However, should this be some sort of sedition or if you do anything to endanger the Empire, I will kill you myself. Are these terms acceptable?’

‘They seem fair enough,’ replied Xander. He then turned and left for the others. ‘He's agreed to give us safe passage to the coast and also a place to stay,’ he said to the group.

‘Well that's something,’ said Spike. Angel, however, looked annoyed.

‘What the hell were you playing at?’ he demanded, ‘Were you trying to provoke him into attacking us?’

‘I had it all under control,’ said Xander, ‘My gun was on him the whole time, I was holding it behind my jacket.’

‘And the others?’ asked Buffy, ‘You weren't even looking at them; you were looking at the carriage.’ Xander didn't say anything at all in response. He just smirked and folded his arms and waited expectedly. ‘You were looking at the carriage,’ she repeated before pausing, a look of comprehension dawning on her face, ‘You knew,’ she said, ‘You knew that the girl was in the carriage. You wanted to draw her out. How did you know?’

‘She was peeking through the gap in the curtain,’ said Xander, ‘I knew she was important because of how the soldiers were positioned around the carriage and she wasn’t a prisoner as I couldn’t see any locks. I figured if I acted in an unusual manner she'd just have to come out. Kids love looking at weird things. The ambush was fortunate as it allowed us to prove ourselves but, if that didn't happen; I figured a child would be easier to win over than the cradle snatcher over there.’ He nodded in the direction of d'Ibelin who was seeing to his men before looking back at Angel. ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence boss,’ he said, ‘Makes me all warm inside. Excuse me.’ He walked past them towards Harmony who was standing apart. ‘You okay?’ he asked. She nodded. ‘I'm sorry I didn't protect you during the fight,’ he said, ‘I shouldn't have been distracted like that.’ She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

‘Xander, I'm not a delicate little china doll,’ she said in exasperation, ‘Buffy was there, I was _fine._ ’

‘Hey, I'm allowed to worry,’ he said, stroking her cheek, ‘If anything ever happened to you I'd… Well, don’t want to know what would happen.’ Her expression softened. He rummaged around through his pockets (his jacket had several, inside and outside) and produced a small pistol. ‘This is a Concealment Smith & Wesson 642,’ he said seriously before putting it in her hand, ‘It has five shots and I want you to have it in case of an emergency.’ She took the firearm with an uncertain hand. ‘This is the safety switch,’ he said, ‘Keep it on unless you want to fire.’ She nodded in understanding. ‘Just be careful,’ he said gently, ‘I don't want to lose you.’ He kissed her chastely before turning around to the others. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘It looks like they're ready to go.’

Four of the soldiers had been wounded in the melee so it was slow going once they finally started moving. Wesley was walking alongside Xander and Harmony whilst Spike, Angel and Buffy were on the other side of the carriage. Harmony felt conflicted about the gun she had concealed in her purse. On one hand, she _did_ feel safer, on the other, how could she possibly take another life? She had already destroyed so many. She needed to talk about it to somebody but Xander was clearly not the person for that. He'd just say he wanted her safe. No, she needed someone who could be objective about it, someone who could understand her situation. ‘Could you excuse me for a moment?’ she asked. Xander looked confused but he nodded and she scurried around to the other side of the carriage.

‘Any idea what that is about?’ asked Wesley.

‘Haven't the foggiest,’ Xander replied curtly.

‘Look,’ said Wesley, ‘I'm sorry for not taking your side before when Angel snapped at you. I was just surprised, I didn't see the girl. I am sorry.’

‘I know,’ said Xander, ‘I'm not angry at you I'm just tired. I'm very tired of people seeing the worst in me. I know it's not you, I'm just….’ He held up his hand and Wesley could see it was shaking.

‘You never told me why you didn't take Gunn on the offer for the eye transplant,’ said Wesley suddenly.

‘You're very right,’ said Xander, looking straight ahead, ‘I didn't tell you.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Uh, Spike, can I talk to you?’ asked a voice. Spike turned around and saw Harmony standing behind him.

‘Yeah sure,’ he said, wondering what she had in mind. She didn't say anything but she chewed her lip nervously and looked over at Angel and Buffy.

‘Oh,’ said Spike, understanding. He turned to the watching pair, ‘Give us moment,’ he said and he led Harmony towards the back of the carriage. ‘What's wrong?’ he asked, fairly certain he had a general idea on what she wanted to talk about.

‘Xander gave me this,’ she said, pulling out her gun. He immediately flinched when he saw the firearm. ‘Spike, the safety's on,’ she said in an annoyed tone of voice, ‘I'm not a complete airhead.’

‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘Mortal now, remember? I get a little jumpy when I see guns, knives or particularly aggressive kittens. May I?’ He held out a hand and she passed him the pistol. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘This is a good little weapon for a tight spot.’

‘I don't think I can use it,’ she said.

‘Why not?’ he asked, ‘It's simple; point, _boom_ , dead bad guy. What's not to get?’

‘How do you that?’ she asked.

‘Do what?’

‘Talk about… Talk about killing after the things we've done,’ she said incredulously, ‘Doesn't that ever bother you?’

‘Yes, it does,’ he said quietly, ‘It bothers me a lot.’

‘Then how do you fight?’ she asked, ‘How do find the willingness to kill?’ He looked her in the eye.

‘You tell yourself that you were not responsible for the atrocities in the past,’ he said tonelessly, ‘That it wasn't your fault because you had no soul and maybe you'll eventually buy into it.’

‘Does it ever work?’ she asked, ‘And I… _Please_ don't lie.’

‘It hasn't so far,’ he whispered so quietly that she had to strain her ears to hear him.

**~o~O~o~**

‘That was an unusual looking firearm,’ said a voice. Xander turned and saw that Anwen had pulled away the carriage window's curtain and was now looking out.

‘If you say so,’ he replied non-committedly.

‘Why so grumpy?’ she asked.

‘I'm not grumpy,’ he said irritably.

‘Are you and the blonde naked girl married?’ she asked. Xander and Wesley looked at her in confusion.

‘What naked girl?’ they asked in unison.

‘The one you gave your pistol to,’ she said.

‘Harmony?’ asked Wesley, ‘She's not naked.’

‘Are you telling me that she normally walks around with her shoulders out like that all the time?’ she asked incredulously.

‘Sometimes,’ said Xander, ‘And no, we're not married.’

‘Engaged?’

‘No,’ he answered.

‘Then why were you kissing her?’ she asked.

‘You're certainly full of questions,’ he said.

‘Only way to learn,’ she said shamelessly, ‘So why were you kissing her?’

‘Well,’ said Xander before turning to Wesley, ‘Wesley? Want to help me out?’

‘Oh no,’ said his boss, grinning, ‘This is all yours.’

‘It's complicated,’ said Xander, ‘Very difficult to explain.’

‘How so?’ she asked. _Oh my god, I do_ not _get paid enough._

‘Sometimes grownups kiss each other without being married,’ he said awkwardly.

‘But mother said that the only people who do that are sinners,’ she said seriously. Wesley chuckled at his friend's predicament.

‘Well where we come from,’ said Xander, trying desperately to end the conversation, ‘It is not seen as that bad a thing.’

‘Well that's dumb,’ she said.

‘If you say so, Your Highness,’ he said.

‘Are you sure you're not grumpy?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ he said through clenched teeth.

‘Because you sure sound grumpy,’ she said.

‘ _OH. MY. GOD!_ ’ he exploded, ‘Do you ever stop?’

‘So, you are grumpy,’ she said, unconcerned with the violent outburst she was witnessing.

‘Wesley,’ said Xander in a faux calm voice, ‘Would you _please_ excuse me? I need to be somewhere that's not here.’ With that said, he stormed off muttering under his breath.

‘What was that about?’ she asked.

‘He can be a little… _testy_ at times,’ said Wesley carefully, ‘But do me a favour, make sure I’m around when you’re annoying him. It’s really entertaining to watch.’

‘No promises but I’ll see what I can do.’

‘What in the world was that about?’ asked Buffy. Xander sighed in exasperation.

‘Sorry,’ he said quickly, ‘Not you just… Children are annoying.’

‘What did she do?’ she asked in the kind of voice she'd use when Dawn told her that she broke up with her current boyfriend.

‘She kept asking me questions,’ said Xander as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

‘How dare she?’ deadpanned the Slayer, ‘Clearly the brat must die for that.’

‘She was asking me about my guns,’ he said, ‘And then she started on about Harmony and then I just went thermal. Yes, I am aware I have anger problems, no, I am not looking to talk about it.’

‘About your guns,’ she said carefully, ‘When did you start using them? I thought we agreed that we shouldn't use them.’

‘No, _you_ decided we shouldn't use them,’ he corrected, ‘And that's great if you happen to have super strength and regenerate but the rest of us mere mortals have to make do with whatever we have.’

‘I'm sorry,’ she said quickly, ‘I didn't mean to… Sorry. Just out of idle curiosity though, how _many_ guns do you keep about our person?’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘You see this awesome jacket I'm wearing?’ She nodded. ‘Well Fred got it for me when I started here and the reason I really like it, aside from the fact that it's awesome is that it has lots and lots of pockets. I might be carrying four,’ he said sheepishly, ‘Yes, four, Harmony has one.’

‘The safeties are on, right?’ she asked concern creeping into her voice.

‘No,’ he said, looking her in the eye with a mixture of irritation and amusement, ‘I keep multiple guns on my person and never leave the safety switches on because time and experience has taught me that I'm bullet proof.’

‘Aren't they heavy?’

‘Very.’

‘Please don't explode at me,’ she said, ‘But is something wrong?’

‘Don't worry,’ he said, ‘I won't explode at you. I'm not so hot right now,’ he admitted, ‘I'm feeling weird mainly because of you guys. I'm getting used to being alive around you and the others and it's bringing back everything I ran away from. And Giles…’ He exhaled. ‘Giles had the audacity to be angry at me. He does _not_ get to be the angry one in this situation.’

‘To be fair,’ she said, ‘You _did_ fake your own death.’

‘Don't get me started on that again,’ he said quickly, ‘When you came back after your three month ‘holiday’ it took less than twenty-four hours for him to be ‘All is forgiven man’ and… He has never given a single inch in my entire life, if I ever needed something I had to fight tooth and nail to get it. He wasn't there when Anya… He does not get to be angry.’

‘I never knew that you and he had those problems,’ she said.

‘Of course, you wouldn't,’ he said, instantly regretting the words the second they came out of his mouth.

‘What's that supposed to mean?’ she asked with a dangerous tilt in her voice.

‘Nothing,’ he said hastily, ‘Forget about it.’

‘Not likely,’ she said, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder, ‘I want to know what you meant.’

‘Okay,’ he said, turning around to face her, ‘I said that you would not have noticed any problems between Giles and myself because you are an extremely self-centred person. If something does not directly affect you it does not matter to you. That is what I meant.’ She made a fist and threw a punch at him but he caught it with his left hand and then hit her in the face with a right hook. He released her hand and she stood there with a look of shock on her face. ‘You wanna try that again, Summers?’ he asked, ‘Cause remember; in this world you are nothing special, you're just another normal person. And due to that little game changer, you better think twice before trying to use violence when you don't get your way because I'm not taking your crap anymore.’ His smile became positively ferocious. ‘I think we're done here,’ he said before walking away.

**~o~O~o~**

As a rule of thumb, it is generally reasonable to panic when you see a huge plume of smoke in the direction of what is supposed to be a populated town. The look on d'Ibelin's face was one of complete and utter horror.

‘Robespierre, Godfrey!’ he barked urgently, ‘Ride ahead and report back on what you see. And be quick about it.’ The two men he signalled out galloped ahead as fast as their horses could go. He turned around so he was now facing his company. ‘As for everyone else,’ he said, ‘We wait here until they come back; we are _not_ taking the princess anywhere unless we are sure it is safe. Just stay alert.’ Xander and Angel both approached him.

‘What's going on?’ asked Angel. d'Ibelin turned his horse so he was no longer facing his men.

‘To be perfectly honest,’ he said, ‘I haven't a clue. Were it another town I might think it just a fire. It would be destructive but not sinister. However, Bendal is primarily built from stone; the only way smoke like that could exist is if it were intentional, which suggests an attack.’

‘What can we do?’ asked Xander, ‘Until this is resolved, just treat us like another set of hands.’

‘Just sat on alert,’ said d'Ibelin grimly, ‘We may have to move in a hurry.’ He then trotted over to the carriage where Anwen looked over at the smoke with a look of trepidation marring her usually calm features. Angel and Xander both exchanged a concerned look. Fred, Willow and the others might have been in Bendal when whatever happened to the town happened. Wesley, Buffy, Spike and Harmony all jogged over to them.

‘What happened?’ asked Spike.

‘d'Ibelin thinks that the town we were headed to might be under attack,’ said Xander, doing his best to not look directly at Buffy.

‘Oh god,’ whispered Wesley, ‘The others –’

‘Will be fine,’ said Angel firmly, ‘They're no pushovers.’ Wesley nodded, not entirely convinced but still not as worried.

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘You're right. I shouldn't worry.’ Xander clasped his boss on the shoulder.

‘Wes,’ he said, ‘Fred will be fine. We don't even know if they were there.’

Twelve minutes later, the two scouts came back with grim faces.

‘The town is under attack,’ said Robespierre with a wild look in his eyes.

‘How many attackers?’ asked d'Ibelin.

‘One massive ship,’ Godfrey answered. ‘It was made entirely out of metal and it was at least five times bigger than the largest vessel in our fleet. There were also these… flying contraptions that dropped explosives. The town is in ruins. There was an exodus of survivors heading inward towards Galderan. Strangely the Ventzians left them alone, they just seemed concerned with completely obliterating the town.’

‘God help us,’ said d'Ibelin quietly before taking a deep breath and turning to address the rest of the men. ‘Bendal lies in ruins,’ he said in a firmer voice, ‘Our first priority is to reconvene with our leaders. So, we will be making for the capital Galderan. Be ready to move out in five minutes.’

‘Is… Was Bendal a major city?’ asked Angel.

‘No,’ said d'Ibelin, ‘It was simply a small coastal town, it had no harbour to speak of. An attack this large makes no sense at all, it had no strategic value whatsoever.’

‘But didn't you say that your king would be meeting us there?’ asked Xander.

‘Yes,’ replied d'Ibelin quickly, ‘But he was not due for another four days. His arrival was hardly a secret so it is unlikely that he was the target.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_One hour ago_ **

**_Location: The inn's sitting room_ **

‘Hey.’ Fred looked up from the fire to see Buffy's sister standing hesitantly behind.

‘Hi,’ she said in response, ‘You're Buffy's sister right? I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.’

‘It's Dawn,’ came the response, ‘It is Fred isn't it?’

‘Yeah,’ said Fred, ‘It's actually Winifred but everyone calls me Fred. Is there something I can do for you?’

‘I just wanted to hang,’ said the younger Summers girl, ‘Willow and Kennedy are… _busy_ and I was actually kind of curious about the work you do?’

‘At Wolfram and Hart?’ asked Fred.

‘Yeah.’

‘Um, okay,’ said Fred, ‘What do you want to know?’

‘What is it that you do?’

‘I'm the head of the Science Division,’ said Fred proudly, ‘We work on practical, non-magic advances in a wide variety of fields. We also –’

She was going to say more when she was interrupted by the sound of a large bell. That was quickly followed by Gunn sprinting into the room frantically waving at them.

‘We gotta get out of here quickly,’ he said urgently, ‘Giles and Lorne are outside already.’

‘What's wrong?’ said Fred quickly getting to her feet. Gunn paused for a moment as it appeared that what he wanted to say was too fantastic for words.

‘There's a modern day aircraft carrier heading for town,’ he said simply.

‘Fair enough,’ said Fred. Dawn had already run out of the room and sped up the stairs only to run into Willow and Kennedy who had been drawn from the room by the commotion outside.

‘What's happening?’ asked Kennedy getting straight to the point.

‘We're under attack,’ she replied concisely, ‘We have to run. The others are downstairs.’

They were suddenly hurled to the ground as an explosion from outside rocked the foundations of the inn. They quickly leapt to their feet and rushed outside where Giles, Gunn and the others were waiting for them.

‘Come on,’ said Giles loudly, struggling to be heard over the commotion, ‘We need to move inland!’

Dawn paused briefly as she looked out towards the sea. Gunn had been right, there was indeed what appeared to be a modern looking aircraft carrier far back in the deeper water. What was even worse was the also modern looking squadron of fighter jets attacking the Victorian like town, deadly bombs hurtling towards the buildings with lethal accuracy.

They weaved between the burning, collapsing buildings, fighting the throng of panicking people, all desperately trying to stay one step ahead of the ever moving inferno.

‘ _LOOK OUT!_ ’ screamed Giles as the building to their left violently exploded, debris and flames spewing out in all directions. Dawn could see a piece of shrapnel flying towards her and everything went black.

**~o~O~o~**

There was no time to waste, they had to move fast. Angel and the others were all sitting atop one of the carriage horse with Xander and Harmony sharing one, Wesley and Spike sharing another and Buffy and Angel both riding the remaining two solo. Since someone was already steering the carriage the horses were harnessed to, they didn't need to steer or do anything. They just sat on the horses and let the driver do all the work. There was no conversation among them, they were all too concerned with what might be happening to their friends. To the East, the huge pillar of smoke still continued to loom across the sky like a spectre.

‘Do you still have the gun I gave you?’ Xander whispered into Harmony's ear.

‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘And don't worry, the safety is still on.’

‘Good,’ he said, ‘I have a feeling that we're going to soon need all the firepower that we can get.’

**~o~O~o~**

Once they were finally a safe distance away from the now ruined town, Giles gently lowered Dawn to the ground and patted her on the cheek.

‘Come on, Dawn, come on, Dawn,’ he said frantically. There was blood dribbling down her cheek from a cut above her eyebrow. ‘Open your eyes, come on honey, please,’ he muttered under his breath. Finally her eyes fluttered open but her eyes were glazed and unfocused.

‘Giles?’ she said uncertainly. He nodded.

‘Yes it's me,’ he said gently before she retched and threw up over his soot covered shirt. He cradled her, ignoring the sick that covered him and just made sure she wouldn't choke on her own vomit. ‘I think she has a concussion,’ he said to the others.

‘Can we move her?’ asked Gunn, looking back at the carnage, ‘Because I don't that we can stay here for too long.’

‘He's right,’ agreed Lorne, ‘We need to hightail it pronto.’

‘We'll have to move slower than we'd like,’ answered Giles, ‘But I think we can move her.’ He gently lifted her to her feet and put one of her arms around his shoulder, supporting her. ‘Come on,’ he said to her, ‘We have to keep moving.’

‘Here, I'll carry her,’ offered Gunn before picking her up and cradling her in his arms.

‘Mind her head,’ said Giles, ‘She'll need support.’ Had it been anyone else, Gunn would have rolled his eyes and said that this wasn't the first time he'd dealt with someone having a concussion but he could see the look of parental concern in the man's eyes. So, he let it pass.

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘I'll be careful.’

They continued to walk, not looking back as the town continued to collapse onto itself with the smoke choking the sunlight.

**~o~O~o~**

They had been riding non-stop for almost five hours and the sky had now begun to turn pink as the sun began to descend toward the horizon.

‘We'll make camp here,’ said d'Ibelin suddenly, ‘I have no intention of moving the princess in the dark until we know what we are dealing with.’ The soldiers all busied themselves with setting up the tents, Wesley and Spike assisting. Xander climbed down off the horse and walked over to the scout. _What was his name…? Oh, that's right._

‘Godfrey,’ he said, the scout turning to face him when he heard his name called, ‘Can you describe that ship to me?’

‘It was bigger than anything I'd ever seen,’ said the scout, ‘ It was like a castle except that it was on the water and made entirely out of metal. I simply don't understand how it managed to stay afloat.’

‘Did it look anything like this?’ asked Xander, sketching a crude image of an aircraft carrier, like the one he had seen in _Top Gun_.

‘Exactly like that,’ confirmed Godfrey, ‘How did you know?’

‘I've seen ships like that before,’ said Xander, ‘But that's impossible, a culture like this could not have developed technology like that or it would have conquered this land decades ago.’

d'Ibelin was brought over to them by Godfrey's urging and he squatted down next to them.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘This man has seen something like that ship before,’ said Godfrey. d'Ibelin turned to Xander.

‘They're called aircraft carriers,’ he explained, ‘They are essentially huge naval bases that can launch planes… Ah, ‘flying machines’ as well as provide firepower.’ He shook his head in confusion. ‘I don't understand how one could exist here,’ he said, more to himself than the others.

‘How do we fight them?’ asked d'Ibelin.

‘You don't,’ said Xander bluntly, ‘One hasn't been destroyed by hostile forces since the forties, uh, nearly seven decades ago, and that was with contemporary armaments. No offense but I can't see how your weapons could even dent them.’

Wesley, Angel and Spike walked over and sat down with them. Xander quickly filled them in and they were all suitably horrified by the thought of modern weaponry existing a world that by all rights shouldn't even be capable of dreaming it up, let alone wielding it against a military target.

‘Shit,’ said Spike quietly, ‘How are we going to get out of this one?’

‘We need Fred,’ said Angel, ‘I think it's fair to say that she's the smartest person on our side. She might be able to make something that could even the odds in our favour.’

‘Against an aircraft carrier?’ asked Xander sceptically, ‘Look I think Fred is a genius but I don't think she'd have the resources to do anything.’

‘I'm clutching at straws,’ admitted Angel, ‘If you have a better idea, I'm all ears.’

‘Who is this Fred?’ asked d'Ibelin.

‘She's our scientist,’ said Wesley, ‘We think she and the rest of our group might have been in the town.’

‘Then we must find her as soon as possible,’ he said, ‘As soon as we get lady Anwen to the capital we will send out as many teams as possible until we find them. At this point I'd be willing to turn to sorcery if it meant bringing that war machine down.’

**~o~O~o~**

They had joined the exodus of refugees making for the capital and were making as good time as possible. Lorne kept his face covered and they had not been bothered by the others. After several hours, the mass of people had unanimously decided to stop for the night. Willow sat down and glared intently as a small stone near her foot.

‘What's wrong?’ asked Fred.

‘My magic isn't working properly,’ explained Willow, ‘The rules are different here but not non-existent. I can feel _something_ , it's just very difficult to tap into – _YES!_ ’ she pumped her fist into the air when the stone wobbled slightly.

‘It wasn't that impressive,’ Fred pointed out.

‘It's a start,’ said Willow, ‘If we ever want to get home I need to get my powers back.’

‘We also need the others,’ said Fred looking out into the darkness, silently praying for their safety.

Kennedy, Gunn and Giles all sat around Dawn who was now sleeping on the ground. She had seemed alright but they were not going to take any chances while she was still in the danger zone. They would watch her in shifts for the next day until they were satisfied that she would be safe.

**~o~O~o~**

Harmony was woken up abruptly by something. She looked to her side and saw Xander sleeping peacefully (for once). It wasn't him that had woken her. She patted her purse to make sure her pistol was still there and she crept to her feet. Ahead she could see a pale light and she walked towards it, ready to run if there was danger. Suddenly, a figure seemed to melt out of the darkness. She had short blonde hair and brown eyes and Harmony couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen this person before.

‘Who are you?’ she asked.

‘Well now I'm hurt,’ said the stranger, ‘No-one ever seems to remember me.’ She chuckled bitterly. ‘Now let's take a look at you,’ she said, ‘You're the newest one. Blonde, blunt, doesn't take any of his crap? Whilst some people might see that as a pathetic inability to move on, I like to see it as a personal homage.’ Something clicked in Harmony's memory. She _had_ seen this girl before.

‘You’re Anya,’ she breathed.

‘The one and only,’ came the reply, ‘I still think it's strange that _you're_ the one who sees me.’

‘Xander can't see you?’ Just for a _second_ , the harsh expression on the dead girl's face cracked and Harmony could see the sorrow deeply embedded on her face. And then the second past and the mask was back on.

‘He won't let himself see me,’ she said before fading away just as suddenly as she had appeared.

**~o~O~o~**

The stone had now lifted up to her eye level and was now orbiting around her head like a demented moon. Willow allowed a small yet victorious grin to wash across her features, savouring the victory. She was still nowhere near the power levels she could boast back on Earth but it was certainly better than what she had when she first came to this world.

Fred watched her silently with a slightly awed expression; she didn't want to break her concentration. Finally, slowly and deliberately, Willow allowed the stone to sink back to the ground.

‘I'm back,’ she said confidently, despite the heavy layer of sweat forming on her forehead. As she spoke Fred could see the sun begin to emerge from the horizon.

They had a very long day ahead of them.

**~o~O~o~**

‘You're awfully quiet today,’ said Xander. Harmony didn't respond, she just continued to walk, apparently lost in her thoughts. ‘Hey, Harmony,’ he said, a little louder, ‘Are you in there?’ She looked up in surprise.

‘I'm sorry,’ she said, ‘What did you say?’

‘I was just wondering if you were okay,’ he said kindly.

‘I'm fine,’ she said in response, ‘You don't have to worry about me all the time.’

‘I'm fairly certain there's a law that says I do,’ he replied. She chuckled slightly but didn't say anything else; her thoughts were too much of a blur. Anya, Xander's dead ex-girlfriend/fiancé/whatever had appeared before her in the final hours of the night. She still had not told anyone about the apparition and she didn't know how to broach the subject. She couldn't just say _‘Gee Xander, I just met the ghost of your dead girlfriend. What's that about?’_

It probably wouldn't go down that well.

She needed sometime to herself so she excused herself and retreated to the back of the group. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Buffy until she practically ran into her.

‘I'm sorry,’ she said quickly, stopping dead in her tracks, holding up her hands as though to ward off a blow.

‘Harmony, chill,’ said Buffy, ‘I'm not gonna kill you.’

‘Force of habit,’ she said, still not entirely convinced she was safe. Buffy shook her head.

‘Whatever,’ she said carelessly, continuing on.

‘Buffy?’ she said suddenly, wondering what on Earth she was doing.

‘Yes?’ asked the Slayer expectedly.

‘What was Anya like?’ she asked. Buffy's eyebrows rose in surprise.

‘Didn't see that coming,’ she said, more to herself, ‘Um, I dunno, she was… Unyielding.’

‘ _Unyielding?_ ’ Harmony asked, ‘Is that all? It's only one word.’

‘It's the only word that mattered,’ said Buffy, ‘She was many things to different people; narcissistic, loving, vindictive, selfless, it changed so often. The one constant thing about her was that she was unyielding. She never compromised, she never gave up, and she never stopped trying to be a better person. Why the sudden curiosity?’ Harmony didn't say anything in response; she just continued to walk along, totally silent. ‘So you and Xander are seeing each other,’ said Buffy. It wasn't a question.

‘Yes,’ said Harmony, ‘We are. Do you have a problem with that?’

‘No,’ said Buffy, ‘I don't think I'm allowed to pass judgement on what he does anymore. So how did it happen anyway?’

‘To be perfectly honest it was just a one night stand that sort of evolved,’ said Harmony, ‘And it's been good, it's been really, _really_ good. I didn't have a soul but, when I was with him, I felt like it didn't matter. He made me feel like I was actually worth something. No one has ever made me feel like that, even before I was turned.’

Buffy's memory drifted back to that day, many years ago when she had just started college. All of her belongings had been stolen and she was at the Bronze, moping over Angel breaking up with her and leaving the town when, completely out of the blue, Xander had sat down next to her and made it alright. Somehow, he made everything seem better. ‘You're my hero,’ he said.

‘Wait here,’ she said to Harmony, ‘I promise that we are going to continue this conversation but I have to do something real quick.’ She then ran up to the front of the column of people and found Xander who was talking to Wesley. ‘Xander,’ she said breathlessly, still not used to running without Slayer powers, ‘I have anger problems, I get that, I also shouldn't have tried to hit you last night and I certainly shouldn't have hit you in Cleveland.’ Xander turned around to face her, not saying a word. ‘You also have some deep-seated problems with me and Giles but I'm willing to keep trying to fix us if you are. You're my friend Xander, you're my best friend and you're alive.’ Tears were actually starting to form around her eyes. He continued to stare silently at her. ‘Come on,’ she said emotionally, ‘Say _something!_ ’

Xander didn't say anything at all. He just took three steps towards her and pulled her into a hug.

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘I'm willing to keep trying. But let's make one thing clear; I am _not_ the guy carries the bags anymore. That part of the show's over. Buy me a drink when we get back and we'll call it even.’

‘Deal,’ she said before smirking suddenly.

‘What?’ he asked in an amused tone of voice.

‘I got my friend back,’ she said in a sing song voice. He laughed at the impossible nature of their very strange lives.

‘Buffy,’ he said, ‘You know I love you like family, right? And so, with that love, I must inform you that you desperately need a shower.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘How are you holding up?’ Gunn asked, rinsing his hands off in the stream.

‘I've been better,’ said Lorne, ‘The whole hiding your identity plays well on the big screen but it's not as much fun in real life.’ They had been travelling along with all of the surviving refugees that had fled the attack on the coastal town. Since they were fairly certain that the green skin and red horns would inspire something resembling a lynch mob, Lorne was still forced to cover his head. However, it was not as bad as before as, before the attack, Kennedy had managed to barter for a long cloak with a hood. He now resembled a pilgrim in one of those old films set in the crusades, not exactly inconspicuous but certainly better than Gunn's poorly fitted hoodie.

‘Hopefully it won't be for much longer,’ said Gunn, ‘I have to say that I'm _really_ missing civilisation. How showers, razor blades and comfy chairs would be great right about now.’

‘I miss my CDs,’ said Lorne wistfully.

‘We've only been away for two days,’ said Gunn, smiling as the thought occurred to him, ‘We really can't cope that well can we?’

‘We've been corrupted by our modern trappings,’ Lorne said mournfully.

‘You make that sound like it's a bad thing,’ snarked Gunn.

‘Hey how's the Slayer's sister doing?’ asked Lorne.

‘Still asleep,’ answered Gunn, ‘But Giles' said that the danger period has passed.’

‘Well that's good,’ said Lorne, ‘Because if we don't bring her home in one piece, the Slayer will have my hide.’

‘So, what do think of them?’ Gunn asked in a more serious tone of voice.

‘Of who?’

‘Buffy and her friends?’

‘They seem like a nice enough sort,’ said Lorne, ‘To be perfectly honest I haven't really had that much of a chance to get to know them and I don't even think I've shared a single sentence with Buffy. Why do ask?’

‘I'm just wondering why he ran away from them,’ said Gunn thoughtfully, ‘I mean he grew up with them and went through all that stuff with them and then one day he just up and leaves.’

‘ _I_ did that,’ said Lorne, ‘I never thought of it that way. I left Pylea and never looked back. Harris and I have more common you'd think. Sometimes you just have to leave or it'll do more damage to you.’

He looked over at the others who were starting to stir, probably woken by Willow's attempts at magic. To their joy, Dawn was also getting up with them. She was still a little woozy but they were just happy to see her awake.

‘How are you doing munchkin?’ Lorne asked her kindly.

‘I've been better,’ she said groggily, rubbing her temple. ‘I don't really remember what happened but thanks you guys for looking after me.’

‘Don't look at me,’ said Giles, ‘Charles here was the one who carried you for most of the way.’

‘The man's been modest,’ said Gunn quickly, ‘He pulled you from a burning ruin singlehandedly.’ Giles was human enough to smile slightly at the praise that was heaped on him.

‘Come on,’ said Kennedy, ‘It looks like everybody else is starting to move on and we should probably stick with them. Safety in numbers and all that.’

‘The girl's right,’ said Gunn, ‘Let's get cracking.’

**~o~O~o~**

To say that Galderan was impressive would be like calling Harmony pretty. It doesn't really do it justice and it reeks of underselling. The whole city was surrounded by two rings of massive white stone wall which Wesley thought highly unusual considering that everything else in this land leant towards Victorian aesthetics. Stone walls were left behind in the Middle Ages once weapons had evolved to an extent that siege warfare became impractical. It certainly looked imposing though. He also noted that the second wall was taller than the first one so that, if the first one was taken, defenders could shoot down on the attackers with no difficulty. Every building they saw was made completely out of stone, he could only wonder just how many countless hours had gone into constructing this behemoth of a city. Before the main gate, stretching for several hundred metres was a long column of refugees in various states of dishevelment and desperation.

Since their group was escorting royalty, they were able to bypass the various checkpoints and were guided into the city with minimal fuss. Well, actually a lot of fuss, but the non-time-wasting kind. Anwen was quickly given over to handlers who would tend to her well-being whilst d'Ibelin escorted the others to the war room.

It was a dimly lit room with a circular stone table in the centre. Its surface depicted an intricately detailed map of what Wesley assumed was Galderan. The map seemed to glow from an unidentifiable source and the images it represented seemed to move. He could make out troop columns and supply chains and then it hit him; the map was showing the military assets of the country in real time through some sort of magic. He noted that the coastal town of Bendal was awash with a bright red tint. Surrounding the table were several older men who he assumed were generals or whatever the equivalent was in this land.

‘Where is the king?’ d'Ibelin demanded as soon as the expected greetings were over and done with. The men exchanged a worried look.

‘You haven't heard?’ the nearest one asked, ‘He was killed in an ambush two days ago. Dozens of Ventzian berserkers came out of a river and attacked his caravan. There were only two survivors to report on what happened and they were both so badly hurt that they died in the night. Command has now fallen to you as regent until the princess is of age.’

Some people might have found the news that they were now the supreme commander of the land to be a cause for celebration. Clearly d'Ibelin was not of that mindset. His face was pale and he swallowed before nodding although it was really more of a spasm in his neck.

‘So be it,’ he said finally, before gesturing to Wesley, Xander and the others. ‘We came across this group on our travels and they were instrumental in foiling a similar attack on the princess. Also, this one,’ he nodded at Xander, ‘Claims to have knowledge of a new weapon the Ventzians deployed at Bendal.’

All the eyes in the room were now directed at Xander who was feeling very self-conscious.

‘I don't claim to be an expert,’ he said quickly, ‘But friend Wesley and I have some small knowledge of what the scouts described.’

‘If you want our help,’ said Wesley, cutting in, ‘We are going to need two things from you: The first thing is a complete overview of every military asset you currently possess. We need accurate figures if we are to think of a viable strategy.’

‘And the second thing?’ d'Ibelin asked.

‘For you to honour your promise and find our friends,’ said Wesley intently. d'Ibelin nodded and said, ‘I did promise that. We'll send out some teams within the hour and you'll have your information as well.’

‘I'll go with them,’ Spike offered, ‘I don't think I'll be any use here and I'll be able to point them out if I see them.’

‘I'll come too,’ said Angel, ‘We _really_ need to find them if we want a way out of this mess.’

The two former vampires were escorted out of the room by a guard who helped them pick out two search parties.

Harmony had sort of drifted to the side of the room, not really contributing to the discussion in any meaningful way. After all, she had no experience with these things. Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye and she turned and saw Anya observing them all in silence. Clearly nobody else could see her, Xander even looked right through her with no visible reaction. The apparition looked right at her and winked conspiratorially as though the whole thing was just a joke to her.

‘Are you okay?’ Buffy asked her. Harmony turned to look at her.

‘Yeah,’ she replied, looking back to where Anya had been. She was no longer there. ‘I'm fine, just super.’

**~o~O~o~**

It had been almost three hours and Xander was nowhere near optimistic about their chances. Whilst they weren't outnumbered, they had no idea what other new modern death machines that the enemy could conjure. They didn't even know if that was their only aircraft carrier or how many planes it could boast. His eyes felt like dirt had been rubbed into it, his eyes were so tired from the strain to read the illegible scrawl on the papers.

‘Do you have any bright ideas?’ he asked Wesley who sat opposite him.

‘Not a dickie bird,’ he replied, ‘I just don't see how pseudo Medieval/Victorian armaments are gonna cut it against fighter jets. The only thing I can think of is avoiding any naval engagements but the other side has magical transportation abilities so I don't know what good it would do.’

They could hear incoming footsteps and they looked up to see Spike rush into the room.

‘Please tell me you have good news,’ Xander asked, practically begging for some kind of win. To his complete and utter astonishment, Spike actually nodded.

‘Angel found the others,’ he said, grinning widely.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Bendal_ **

The town of Bendal had been entirely flattened, there was not a single structure that remained standing. However, the work was not yet done by a long shot.

The digging had only just begun. A Ventzian worker paused to wipe the sweat from his brow leant on his shovel as he examined the work that was being undertaken by an army of diggers. He had no idea why they were here or what the command wanted with this former town. His face suddenly contorted as feelings of unbelievable rage and wrath threatened to overwhelm him but then, just as suddenly, the flood of emotion dissipated. ‘What was that about?’ he said aloud before he heard a whisper in the deep recesses of his mind.

_I am coming back._

He shook his head to dispel whatever strange thoughts had taken root in his head and went back to his work with increased vigour.

**~o~O~o~**

 ‘Remember to breathe boss-man,’ said Xander with an unholy mix of irritation and amusement in his voice, ‘And breathe… and breathe.’

Wesley of course completely ignored him and continued to kiss Fred as though it would be the last chance he got.

‘Seriously, how are you doing that?’ he asked, ‘Do you have gills or something?’

‘Leave 'em alone, Harris,’ said Spike cheerfully, lightly whacking him on the back of the head.

Fred finally broke the kiss and gently touched her forehead to Wesley's.

‘It feels like I haven't seen you in years,’ she said quietly.

‘I know the feeling,’ he said in reply. Fred finally parted from Wesley's embrace and reached for both Spike and Xander pulling them both into a big hug.

‘It's good to have you back,’ said Xander, ‘It's not really the Fang Gang without Winifred Burkle telling us what to do.’ The two men paused to take a good look at her.

‘You seem to have lost the highlights,’ Spike said, pointing a finger at her now restored brown locks.

‘From what I've heard I'm not the only one who's changed,’ she said. ‘May I?’ she asked, reaching out her hand towards his chest. He nodded and she placed it over his now beating heart. ‘It's incredible,’ she marvelled before turning to Xander. ‘And you,’ she said, ‘Your eye… You look good.’ Xander grinned in response.

‘Careful now,’ he said, ‘Wesley looks ready to kill.’ Wesley smiled innocently before patting him on the shoulder good-naturedly.

‘Trust me, you don't wanna get on his bad side,’ said Gunn, grinning as he and Lorne entered the room. Lorne's appearance had caused a stir but Wesley was able to quickly defuse the situation by drawing attention to the act that Fred and Willow were finally with them and could potentially be their salvation.

‘I knew you were too stubborn to die,’ said Xander, shaking Gunn's hand.

‘How have things been with you?’ asked Lorne.

‘Nothing too eventful,’ said Xander, ‘Got into a bit of a scrap on the road and I think Wesley might now be this place's equivalent of second in command but pretty quiet.’

From across the room Giles watched the interaction with interest. He hadn't seen Xander act like this since before… Well, in all honesty, he hadn't seen him like since before the destruction of the Initiative. Afterwards there had always been a bitter undercurrent to his behaviour and attitude. He might have laughed and joked but it never seemed like his heart was fully into it. And after Anya died even that remaining spark was extinguished. He had become despondent and borderline suicidal. And now there he was, grinning and laughing in friendship with Wesley and Spike of all people, two men he had once shown the greatest disdain and hatred possible. How was it possible that he, Rupert Giles had failed in reaching the boy where two such men succeeded? And Angel? He was voluntarily working for Angel, a vampire he had wanted to kill for many years. What had happened to change him so much?

**~o~O~o~**

‘… and she ended up taking over the magic shop when Giles went back to England,’ Buffy continued, ‘She basically stayed there until the end.’ True to her promise on the road, as soon as they had a moment Buffy had taken Harmony aside and offered to answer any questions she might have. ‘Why do you want to know this anyway?’ she asked suddenly

‘She was a big part of his life,’ said Harmony, ‘But he never talks about her.’

‘It's difficult,’ said Buffy, ‘Sometimes the memories are just too painful.’ She then chuckled softly. ‘You know something?’ she said, ‘I can honestly say that this is a conversation I never expected to have with you.’

‘I never expected to _have_ a conversation with you,’ said Harmony, ‘I mean, you're the Slayer and I'm… well, me.’

‘Why else do you want to know?’ Buffy asked. Harmony tilted her head.

‘I'm sorry?’ I said, ‘I don't think I understand –’

‘Why _else_ do you want to know about Anya?’ Buffy asked the former vampire. Harmony took a deep breath.

‘Because I saw her last night,’ she said finally, ‘She appeared and then vanished.’ Two years ago, Buffy might have thought that she was crazy but just over a year ago, she had fought the First Evil, an entity that could take the form of those that had died. She had also seen ghosts and zombies and other phantoms of the dead. But Anya? Why?

‘Did she say anything?’ Buffy asked carefully.

‘She called me an homage,’ said Harmony.

‘I don't follow you,’ said Buffy.

‘She said that I was blonde, blunt and didn't take his…’ her voice trailed off. ‘Anyway, she said that people might call it an inability to move on whilst she called it an homage to her.’

‘Well that _does_ sound like something she'd say,’ admitted Buffy. ‘Have you told Xander?’

‘No,’ she replied, ‘I don't even know how to bring it up with him.’ Buffy silently agreed that mentioning Anya around Xander was like playing around with a volatile substance; unpredictable, explosive and extremely unpleasant when on the receiving end.

‘Fair point,’ she said, ‘If you want I could ask Giles in the morning and see what he thinks.’

‘Sure,’ she said, ‘If you think he can help… Wait, why are you being so nice to me?’ Buffy sighed.

‘I haven't exactly had a good history with some of his previous girlfriends,’ she said, ‘It damaged my friendship with him and I don't want to do that anymore. I'm tired of fighting my friends.’

**~o~O~o~**

Dinner was a simple and quiet affair, despite the fact that some of them hadn't eaten all day, none of them could find their appetite and they only took in a few mouthfuls before retiring to bed. True to his word, d'Ibelin had found them all suitable accommodations in the fortress. There was a hall of rooms that was usually used to house ambassadors and other honoured guests. However, due to the lack of ambassadors and honoured guests, they were given over to Angel and the others for the foreseeable future. At the end of the hallway was a small balcony that could boast a view of the entire city and the wide plain before it. Xander leant on the railing and looked out at the alien night sky. He couldn't recognise a single star or constellation. Not that he was really an astronomy buff, back home that had always been Willow's department, being the resident Wicca and all that. He knew that he should call it a night and get some sleep due to the heavy workload that awaited him the next day but he was too wired to sleep. Having the whole Sunnydale gang back was really freaking him out. Yes, they had known he was alive for several days now but he hadn't really had any contact with them except for Buffy due to them being separated from one another. The only other interaction he had had with them was when Willow helped him save Fred and when he and Giles had their punch up. All things considered that was a good fight, the visit to the medical bay notwithstanding. It had given him a real cathartic feeling.

‘Mind if I join you?’ said a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Dawn standing hesitantly in the hallway. It was strange, he had always seen her as just a child but in the time he had been away she had clearly grown up considerably.

‘It's a free country,’ he said, ‘Or is it? Given the whole ‘Victorian’ thing, I'm not entirely sure that it qualifies.’

‘How have you been?’ she asked.

‘I've had good and bad days,’ he said, ‘What about you?’

‘The same,’ she said, not looking at him. She looked agitated and he had a good guess on why.

‘You forgave me too quickly,’ he said, giving her a way out.

‘Yeah,’ she agreed, ‘Xander, I am very happy that you're alive but how could you do that to us? Running off like that?’

‘I didn't mean to hurt you,’ he said quietly with the tone of voice one uses when they know they don't have a leg to stand on.

‘But you did,’ she said, ‘Things have been really sucky since you left and not just with the gang. I've been at college this year and I haven't been able to make any friends because I just connect with them because of all the crazy stuff I see. Willow and Giles try but you are the guy I used to talk to about these things, you were my friend and you just left.’ Tears were silently running down her cheeks but she ignored them, determined to finish what she had to say. ‘I know you had problems but you could have talked to me. I don't know what I could have done but I would have listened. You didn't have to run away.’

‘Yes, I did,’ he said softly, ‘I was seeing her.’ Dawn didn't have to ask who ‘her’ was. ‘Everywhere I went she was there. I needed to get away from anything that could have reminded me of her. I went across the entire planet running away from a ghost.’

‘You could have talked to me,’ she repeated.

‘Dawnie,’ he began, ‘I –’

‘Don't call me that,’ she interrupted. His face fell at her statement.

‘I'm sorry,’ he said, ‘I'm sorry for so many things.’ He sat down on the cold stone and leant against the railing. She sat down next to him.

‘Where did you go?’ she asked.

‘Like the song says, I've been everywhere,’ he replied, ‘Well I left Africa in a hurry and ended up in China for about a month, that wasn't fun. After that I spent some time in the Australian outback, which was a little better. I went all over after that but the only other place of note was Peru. Going there was a _big_ mistake. I ended up a ‘guest’ of the police once they found out I wasn't a tourist or citizen. They found out that I knew things about the Slayers and wanted me to tell them what I knew. It was an _educational_ experience. After I got away, I headed straight back to the States and went all over the place before I ended up in Los Angeles. That was when I ran into Angel and his team, one thing led to another and I asked him for a job. I've been with the team ever since.’

‘Sounds pretty intense,’ she said, ‘What about Harmony?’

‘You really want to know?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘I really want to know.’

‘To be perfectly honest,’ he said, ‘I'm not really sure how that happened. It was the night I got the job, I was in this bar and she was sitting there next to me. Not sure how but I ended up back at her place and things just escalated.’

‘You fucked a vampire,’ Dawn said incredulously, ‘ _You?_ ’

‘Hey,’ he said defensively, ‘You can't judge. Didn't you used to have a thing for Spike?’

‘It's not that,’ she said, ‘I just remember that you and vampires did not get on well.’

‘Fair point,’ he conceded, ‘With her it's just… I don't know, I feel something. Like maybe I can actually do some good for once.’

‘She's evil,’ she said flatly.

‘She has a soul,’ he replied. She looked at him in shock. ‘It's this world,’ he said, ‘Something about it restores vampires to their original form; i.e. humans with souls.’

‘Oh.’

‘She needs help,’ he said, ‘And she's been there for me during some really patches in my life so I owe her the same.’ They sat in silence for a while as Dawn attempted to adjust to the new information.

‘How have you been?’ he asked her, not entirely comfortable with the silence.

‘I started college,’ she said, ‘I'm doing a Psych degree.’

‘How's it going?’

‘Really well actually,’ she said proudly, ‘This is something I really want to do and I am good at it.’

‘I always said you'd go far,’ he said admiringly.

‘I haven't finished it yet,’ she pointed out, ‘So don't get too ahead of yourself.’

‘What's this about you not having any friends?’ he asked gently, ‘I remember you being really good at that sort of thing.’

‘It's hard to make a connection with someone when you have to constantly lie to them,’ she pointed out, ‘Also, after you… It was hard to be close to people.’

‘What about a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Anything like that?’ he asked.

‘No and _definitely_ no,’ she laughed, ‘Nothing like that. I almost brought a guy home that I just met but Buffy saw him off in a hurry and gave me a big lecture about appropriate behaviour around guys I just met.’ Xander laughed at her statement.

‘What?’ she asked, ‘I'm eighteen.’

‘It's not that,’ he said, ‘It's just… Okay, you didn't hear this from me but next time that happens, ask Buffy about a guy named Parker. See what happens.’

‘Who's Parker?’ she asked.

‘Not telling,’ he said while smiling, ‘You'll have to ask her.’

‘What happens when we get back?’ she asked.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Do you go back to being dead or… What happens?’

‘No,’ he said, ‘I haven't really thought that far ahead but I do want to be a part of your life… I-if you want me too that is.’ His words hung in the air.

‘Yeah,’ she said finally, ‘I do want you around. We are a strange family aren't we?’ They both laughed at the question.

**~o~O~o~**

While sitting on her bed Buffy heard a knock on her door.

‘Come in,’ she called out and the door opened to reveal Spike.

‘Hi,’ he said somewhat awkwardly.

‘Hi back,’ she responded. ‘So, you're alive too,’ she said, ‘You could have called, why didn't you?’

‘I didn't think I could top Sunnydale,’ he said, ‘I thought it would be better if you saw me as a hero as opposed to… something less than heroic. I know it's silly but you thinking good of me is more important than anything else in my life. I was wrong, I do get that.’

‘Having two people I thought were dead coming back to life on the same day is a little confusing,’ she said.

‘But Harris had a legitimate reason, I didn't,’ he said, ‘And I'm sorry Buffy.’ Buffy got up from the bed and walked over to the window. ‘What's wrong?’ he asked.

‘Nothing,’ she said, ‘With you defending Xander I wanted to see if I could catch a pig as it flew by.’

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘We may not be as disdainful as we were. It's not that big a deal.’

‘If you say so,’ she said.

‘Did you mean what you said?’ he asked suddenly. ‘Just before you left when I was burning, did you mean it?’ She was silent for a while before answering.

‘No,’ she said finally, ‘You were right the first time.’

‘I thought so,’ he said softly, ‘I just… I had to check. Thanks for the honesty.’ He walked to the door. ‘Goodnight Slayer.’

‘Spike,’ she called out, stopping him at the doorway, ‘I'm still glad you're back.’

**~o~O~o~**

d'Ibelin scowled as he examined the statistics regarding the country's military strength. Five years ago, he would have said that they were enough but after the events of the past week he was not so sure. He had not wanted this, _any_ of it. The position and marriage had all been arranged by other people that had not taken his desires into consideration. Now he was supposed to lead an entire country into a war that they might not even win and his only source of hope was a strange group of foreigners that he literally picked up on the side of the road. Had he been in possession of greater assets, he might not have been so trusting but what else could he do? They did seem to be able to accurately describe the machine that his scouts had seen in Bendal which was something. Maybe they actually could think of something that could save the kingdom.

It was not like he had much of a choice.

Not that that was different from the rest of his life.

**~o~O~o~**

Harmony cried.

She had been behaving oddly all night and most of the day for that matter, not saying much and only giving short answers when someone directly spoke to her. Then, as soon as they were alone in their room, she led him to the bed and started kissing him rather urgently as though it would be her last chance to do so. She pushed him onto the bed and straddled him before kissing him again.

‘What brought this on?’ he asked between kisses.

‘I have a soul,’ she said simply, ‘I want to see if it's different.’ He kissed her again and rolled the two of them over so that he was now on top of her. She tried to pull his shirt off but it was trapped between their two bodies so he had to ease of slightly. He then did the same to her and they continued with peeling away the rest of their clothing.

Xander then climbed back between Harmony’s spreading legs and plunged deeply into her warmth, eliciting a groan from the back of her throat. She pushed up against him and wrapped her legs around his waist as he began to thrust into her.

It felt almost perfect.

There was one thing though; no matter what they did Harmony’s eyes stayed shut. Xander forced himself to pretend not to notice. Her breathing was heavy, the noises were right, and he was the one doing that to her. Whatever else was going on in her head, she was feeling _him_ , and he told himself that was the most important thing.

Harmony’s cries were increasingly urgent and she tightened all around him as her climax hit her like a wave. She clung to him and buried her face into his shoulder.

‘Xander.’ It was a whisper, barely perceptible but he heard it. Finally, unable to hold back the tide any longer, he buried himself deep inside her as his essence poured out into her waiting body.

When she finally recovered from her high, she loosened her grip on him and he rolled off of her and she rested her head on his chest, feeling his heart thump against her cheek. Her breathing slowed and she started to cry.

‘What's wrong?’ Xander asked gently.

‘I'm happy,’ she said as though that explained everything.

‘I'm sorry, _what?_ ’ he said, thoroughly perplexed.

‘I feel happy.’

‘I'm very confused,’ he said, ‘Isn't that usually a good thing?’

‘If I'm happy,’ she explained, holding onto him tightly, ‘I can be open to other things like being sad or heartbroken which is something that could easily happen. We've been landed in the middle of a war, we could die or you could die or I could die and one of us would be alone. But right now, I'm happier than I've _ever_ been and I'm scared of that being taken away from me. And more than that, when I'm with you I'm unfocused, I'm distracted… I can only see you and when I'm not with you… I'm still seeing you and I'm scared.’ He smiled gently and kissed her lightly on the lips.

‘Harmony,’ he said, ‘It's okay, I love you too.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this and please remember to leave a comment below


	13. Fear Makes You Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The combined Scooby Gang and the Fang Gang work together to finally escape this new dimension.

Breakfast was certainly more pleasant than dinner. They were all starving and heartily dug into the food that was placed before them. Giles and Wesley were both swapping stories on what they'd both been up to since the Ascension while Willow and Buffy spoke to Fred about some of their exploits in Switzerland. Gunn and Lorne traded war stories with Kennedy who was easily able to match them for danger and intensity, although to be fair taking part in the fight against the First Evil is really difficult to top. Harmony and Xander just flirted with each other, occasionally laughing if they said something funny. Dawn watched them silently from across the table. It was strange seeing him smile like that and it was even stranger seeing Harmony be the one responsible for it. Suddenly, Harmony stopped in mid-sentence and looked behind Xander in shock.

‘What's wrong?’ he asked but she just ignored him and ran out of the room. He got up to follow her but Giles stopped.

‘Stay here,’ he said, ‘I'll dead with this.’ Xander laughed derisively.

‘I don't see that happening,’ he said, moving around but Giles blocked him.

‘Xander,’ he pleaded, ‘ _Please_ trust me. I think I know what's wrong with her.’ Xander's expression was stony but he relented.

‘Five minutes is all you're getting,’ he said before sitting back down at the table.

Giles followed Harmony out of the room and saw her shaking in the hall as though she had just run a marathon.

‘Did you see her too?’ he asked.

‘You can see her?’ she asked in response, ‘I thought I was the only one.’

‘No,’ he said, ‘I saw Anya as well.’

‘Was this the first time you saw her?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘But Willow told us that she saw Tara appear before her. Have you seen her before?’ She nodded.

‘The night before last,’ she answered, ‘And she spoke to me, calling me her replacement. Why can nobody else see her?’

‘I don't know,’ he said, ‘I don't even know why _we're_ the ones who can see her.’

‘Why was she just standing there?’ Harmony asked, ‘She didn't say anything, she just stood there looking at me.’

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Bendal_ **

In no less than twenty-four hours, the army of diggers had managed to carve a deep gash into the surface of the ground. It did not appear that they were digging for gold or any other natural resource but they continued their work without question. Claudio, one of the workers leant heavily on his shovel and gasped. In the crack that his shovel had carved into the soil he could see a bright light shining.

‘ _IT IS DONE!’_ screamed a voice that reverberated around the mineshaft. _‘I HAVE RETURNED!’_

In a single instant of clarity Claudio realised that everything that his country had fought for was nothing more than a lie. He, like the rest of the workers, died screaming.

**~o~O~o~**

 ‘Should we tell the others?’ asked Harmony.

‘I'm not sure,’ replied Giles, ‘At least not until we know what we're dealing with.’

‘Buffy knows,’ she blurted out.

‘Buffy can see Anya?’ he asked in surprise.

‘No,’ she answered quickly, ‘But I told her about it last night.’

‘You know,’ said a voice from behind them, ‘It's very rude to talk about someone when they're not around.’ They both turned to face the source of the voice.

‘Anya,’ said Giles, ‘Why are you here? What do you want?’

‘Oh the usual stuff,’ she said airily, ‘A nice job, someone to love, two-point-five kids, like I said, the usual stuff.’

‘Why are you here?’ he repeated.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘Like Tara said to Willow, this place is like a magnet to the surrounding dimensions. I just get pulled along for the ride, yippy for me.’

‘Why are we the only ones who can see you?’ Giles asked. Anya shrugged in response.

‘Who knows, _Rupert,_ ’ she said carelessly. Giles looked up in surprise at the use of his first name. ‘I mean,’ she continued, ignoring his expression, ‘It makes a certain amount of poetic sense that the girl can see me but you?’

‘Why shouldn't I?’ he asked, ‘You were important to me.’ She chuckled enigmatically at his statement.

‘What?’ he demanded, ‘You were.’ The chuckle developed into full on laughter.

‘I'm not even gonna touch that,’ she said darkly.

‘Why can't Xander see you?’ Harmony asked, ‘You said he couldn't last time we spoke.’

‘I don't know,’ she said, ‘God knows I've tried. When he and Angel went out scouting I was standing in front of him for over an hour trying to get his attention and I was there when he fought Buffy. No matter what I do, he can't see me.’ She looked thoroughly miserable. ‘You have to go,’ she said, ‘Something is coming, I don't know what it is but it is like nothing you've ever faced. If you stay here you will die.’

‘How?’ asked Giles, ‘How do we leave?’ She shrugged again.

‘How should I know?’ she said before looking behind her shoulder as though she could see something. ‘I have to go.’

‘Anya,’ Giles pressed, realising he may not ever get another opportunity to say what he felt, ‘I _did_ care about you.’

‘Not enough,’ she shot back in a biting tone of voice, ‘I know this isn't the time but seeing as I'm probably not gonna get another chance to get this off my chest I might as well get some closure. When you came back after Willow went dark Buffy was the only one that mattered to you. I was practically yelling ‘ _Look at me, look at me_ ’ but you never did. You didn't show up for my wedding even though you were the closest thing I ever had to a dad and, given how it turned out, I could have really used you then and… My _funeral?_ Seriously? You couldn't find the time for half an hour? So don't tell me you cared because you clearly did _not._ ’ With a final scathing expression at the Watcher, she vanished.

‘Your five minutes are up,’ said Xander, entering the chamber, ‘What's wrong?’

‘I had another flashback,’ said Harmony quickly, surprising even herself with the falsehood. She had never been any good at deception.

‘I thought that she might need some assistance,’ said Giles, quickly corroborating her story.

‘And why couldn't _I_ do that?’ asked Xander in a voice as scathing as Anya's had been.

‘Xander, I… I just wanted to help,’ he replied earnestly. Xander laughed.

‘Oh Rupert,’ he said, ‘If you think I need your help again I'll build a time machine and we'll go back six years and you can go grab a version of me that actually wants it.’ He then looked back at Harmony. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked in a significantly more gentle tone.

‘I'm fine,’ she nodded, ‘I just didn't want anyone to see me.’ He pulled her to him and kissed her on the forehead.

‘If it happens again,’ he said, ‘Just remember I'm right here.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘We should probably head back inside.’

As Giles watched them depart, he could not help but wonder on whatever it was that he must have done to make both Xander and Anya so disparaging towards him.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Is Harmony okay?’ asked Wesley as he flicked through the statistics regarding Galderal's military strength.

‘She's okay,’ said Xander, doing the same, ‘It was another flashback but she just won't talk to me about it which is weird. It's just… Ah, never mind, not the time for this sort of thing. Have Fred or Willow been able come up with anything useful?’

‘Fred's been down in the equivalent of a lab since breakfast,’ replied Wesley, ‘She said she has an idea but didn't want to say anything until she knows it could work.’

‘Hopefully it'll be something impressive,’ speculated Xander, ‘Because right now all I have is a suicide attack from cavalry against aircraft. Aside from some incredibly lucky sneak attack, I'm all out of ideas. What are Angel and Spike doing?’

‘They're going through the armoury,’ Wesley answered, ‘They want to see if anything could be upgraded or improved in a short amount of time but they didn't seem all that hopeful.’ Gunn and Lorne entered the musty smelling room at sat down next to the dejected looking pair.

‘Not having so good a day?’ asked Lorne.

‘Not so good,’ answered Xander, ‘Were you two able to find anything yourselves.’

‘Not much,’ admitted Gunn, ‘I had a bit of a stickybeak around their trade history between the two countries for the past decade before the war and, nothing. I can't find any practical reason for the invasion. Ventzia possesses far more natural resources than Galderal ever did so they're clearly not doing for gold or iron or something like that, d'Ibelin was clearly telling the truth.’

‘I was able to dig up this though,’ said Lorne, ‘About eleven years ago there was civil war in Ventzia regarding the local deity. Apparently this is when their use of magic became mainstream.’

‘Anything on the deity?’ asked Wesley with renewed interest.

‘She is called Rahg-Na-Ra,’ said Lorne distastefully, ‘She's not the sort of goddess that gives out love and good times. She's more Biblical rain fire down on your ass kind of thing.’

‘Sounds like some I met,’ murmured Xander thoughtfully. They all looked at him in confusion. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘You didn't know? Remember when Buffy died?’ They all nodded. ‘Well,’ he continued, ‘It was fighting a God named Glory. Let me tell you right now that she was a nasty piece of work.’

‘Are you telling me that Buffy killed a God?’ Wesley asked incredulously.

‘No,’ he replied distastefully, ‘ _Giles_ killed her. She kept switching back and forward between her god form and that of a human named Ben. When she switched, Giles smothered him.’

‘And Buffy was up for that?’ Wesley asked skeptically.

‘To be perfectly honest she didn't know,’ said Xander, ‘Only Spike and I found out when we asked him what happened. The others just think her fell of the scaffold and broke his neck or something.’

‘You don't suppose that there is an actual, _physical_ God pulling the strings?’ theorised Wesley.

‘Well then we are very dead,’ said Gunn in a matter of fact tone of voice.

‘No we're not,’ said Fred proudly entering the room with Willow close behind her.

‘Will, please tell me you guys have something,’ begged Xander.

‘Oh you are gonna love this,’ said Fred, her eyes twinkling.

**~o~O~o~**

‘I love this,’ said Xander. Fred and Willow had led the men out to the outer wall where about two hundred metres away were two abandoned carriages surrounded by wooden dummies. Several metres away from the carriages stood a group of men each carrying a large bucket of water. Waiting for them was d'Ibelin accompanied by some of his advisors. On the wall was an unusual looking cannon pointed down at the carriages. Xander also noted that next to the cannon was a massive gong.

‘I was told you have a new weapon for the field,’ he said after greeting them.

‘Actually this is their show,’ admitted Wesley, nodding at the two ladies. One of the advisors, a man named Lord Baldwin of Acre, snorted derisively at them only to stop when Wesley gave him his most ferocious of death glares.

‘This is something we cooled up together,’ explained Fred, ‘Willow was able to er… _Play around_ with some of the components to make them more volatile. Observe.’ Willow fired the gun and the closer of the two wagons instantly exploded in a shower of flame and splinters.

‘It's certainly impressive,’ said d'Ibelin obviously unconvinced, ‘But it's nothing new. Our cannons have had that firepower for years.’ Willow hit the gong and, responding to the signal, the men carrying the water attempted to quench the blaze. Lord Acre was now openly derisive.

‘What did I tell you all?’ he said to the assembly of men, ‘These _women_ are just leading us up a – _WHAT?!_ ’ Everyone returned their gaze to the now blazing inferno. No matter what the men did, they could not stifle the flames.

‘The more water,’ breathed d'Ibelin, ‘The more fire.’ This was when Xander said ‘I love this.’

‘Greek fire?’ exclaimed Wesley, ‘You made Greek fire. Brilliant.’ The hands had now abandoned their task and fled from the flames.

‘It's a bit more volatile than anything the Greeks used,’ said Fred proudly, ‘It could actually burn right through stone.’

‘It's impressive,’ said Gunn, ‘But what is that gonna do against a carrier. It won't be able to take it out.’

‘It won't have to,’ said Xander, the turning wheels in head practically visible for all to see. ‘If we get some of that stuff in the control room it'll be nothing more than a floating brick.’ He turned to Fred and Willow. ‘You guys are freaking awesome. Everyone,’ he addressed the entire group, ‘With this new information I think I might have a viable plan. Let me talk with Wesley and we'll meet again in an hour.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘What do I do now?’ Harmony asked, ‘He can't see her so do I _have_ to tell him about Anya?’ Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought.

‘I don't know,’ he said, ‘I think the past few days are evidence that I am _not_ an authority on what to do regarding Xander Harris. However, seeing as this affects you more than me, I will abide by your decision, whatever that might be.’

‘Well she hasn't really done anything,’ said Buffy, ‘And seeing as how, according to Willow, we can't touch her on account of her being ‘dead to us’ I don't see why we need to tell anyone anything. It's not like it will change anything other than hurting him, I say keep it to ourselves unless the situation changes.’

‘Just wait and see what happens?’ asked Giles, ‘Are you sure that's wise?’ Buffy shrugged.

‘I didn't phrase it quite like that in my head,’ she said, ‘But, basically, yes I think that is what we should do.’

**~o~O~o~**

Right now, the scout Robespierre was truly amongst the most unfortunate of men. Lord Acre passed agitatedly before him, somewhat reminiscent of a powder keg set to explode.

‘I'm not happy,’ he said finally, ‘Ask me why.’

‘Why?’

‘Be more specific, Robespierre,’ said Acre, ‘Ask me _why_ I'm not happy.’

‘Why are you not happy, Lord?’ he asked.

‘I am unhappy because I. Do. Not. Like. Surprises!’ said Acre, punctuating each word, ‘Who are these strangers and _how_ did they end up with Ibelin?’ Robespierre noted the lack of the ‘d’ honorific that was given to the Royal family. ‘I did not arrange for the king's death only to have some foreigners come out of the blue and pull some _Deus ex_ _Machina_ out of thin air.’

‘What do you want me to do?’ Robespierre asked.

‘What I want you to do,’ said Acre harshly, ‘And I'm using small words so you cannot possibly misunderstand me, is eliminate the boy and his companions before my contact hears about them. If the Ventzians hear news of foreign aid they will be breathing down my neck about, asking why I didn't inform them. Do I need the Ventzians breathing down my neck?’

‘Er, no?’ Acre rolled his eyes irritably.

‘Just do it,’ he said.

**~o~O~o~**

‘What do you think?’ asked Xander, having just finished explaining his plan.

‘It's certainly bold, I'll give you that,’ said Wesley, ‘But maybe… I don't know, I feel like it's missing something.’ He drummed the desk thoughtfully. ‘What if we took out the frontal assault as any ground force would be absolutely annihilated by the aerial bombers and instead replaced it with an entirely stealthy attack?’ Xander grinned in response.

‘I like it,’ he said, ‘So at night, we send a small team to infiltrate the carrier and disable the control room. Hopefully they won't have the necessary resources to repair it. We might be able to do something about those bombers as well if we hit everything at once.’

‘Why not simply take out the wheels?’ suggested Wesley, ‘We've already established that we cannot destroy them, even with the Greek fire, so why not do the next best thing? Make them unable to take off.’

‘You know?’ said Xander, ‘I'm _very_ glad we're on the same side. I'd hate to have you as an enemy.’ The two men chuckled before getting up to meet up with the others with their new battle plan.

‘Has Willow made any progress on finding a way for us to get home?’ asked Wesley as they walked.

‘Nothing as of yet,’ said Xander, ‘But to be fair to her, it's not like she has had much opportunity.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Wesley, ‘I just want to get back before Ioan does any more damage. I mean, it's been three days, who knows what's happened to the company in that time?’

‘Well it's not like this hasn't been a fun little vacation though,’ snarked Xander, ‘Maybe we should just see it as –’ He immediately stopped talking in mid-sentence and tackled Wesley to the ground just as a bullet slammed into the wall right next to where his head had been. Wesley quickly reached for his pistol and fired in the direction of the shot, hitting stone.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked as soon as they were in cover behind a pillar. Xander nodded.

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘I'm fine. Is he still there?’ Wesley peeked his head around the pillar and quickly retreated, narrowly missing a bullet to the face.

‘I think it's safe to say that he's still there,’ he answered.

**~o~O~o~**

‘What's keeping them?’ Gunn asked of no-one in particular, ‘They should have been here ten minutes ago.’ There were suddenly sounds of alarm from several of the onlookers and he turned to see Wesley and Xander dragging a bruised and bloodied man between them.

‘What is the meaning of this?’ d'Ibelin demanded angrily, ‘Unhand my scout at once!’

‘Your scout attacked us,’ Xander retorted angrily, ‘He took a shot at us when we were on our way here.’

‘Is this true?’ d'Ibelin asked, looking angrily at Robespierre.

‘Absolutely not, Lord,’ Robespierre answered, ‘These foreigners attacked me unprovoked. They said that they would try to curry favour with you by saying that I tried to assassinate you.’

‘That makes a certain sense,’ said Acre acidly.

‘Yeah right,’ retorted Xander, ‘To be perfectly blunt, we _already_ have favour. Why do we need more? What would be the point?’ Despite himself, d'Ibelin had to admit that the boy's statement made sense. What _would_ be the point?

‘There is no evidence against me!’ Robespierre exclaimed hotly.

‘Actually there is,’ said Wesley smugly. He produced Robespierre's firearm. ‘Can you identify this weapon?’ he asked d'Ibelin. The lord examined the gun intently.

‘It is a standard firearm used by members of my personal guard,’ stated d'Ibelin.

‘That proves nothing,’ said Acre quickly.

‘On its own, that would be correct,’ replied Wesley, ‘However, there is a bullet embedded in a pillar not too far from here that I think will be a match for his gun.’ At last d'Ibelin nodded, satisfied with Wesley's suggestion. He ordered two soldiers to find the pillar and retrieve the bullet for examination. At his words Robespierre frantically attempted to resist, struggling against the men that held him. He then began to violently convulse and frothed at the mouth.

‘What's happening?’ Xander asked before the man collapsed to the ground, dead. Wesley reached for the dead man's lips and, with difficulty, managed to pry his jaw open before examining his teeth.

‘Cyanide tooth,’ he stated unnecessarily.

**~o~O~o~**

Buffy, Harmony and Giles rushed into the war room with panicked expressions on their faces.

‘We came as soon as we heard,’ said Buffy, ‘Are you all okay?’ Wesley nodded.

‘We're okay,’ he said, ‘The only person who died was the attacker.’

‘I still do not understand,’ said d'Ibelin, ‘Robespierre has been a trusted soldier under my command for many years. What on earth could have possessed him to do such a thing? And in such a sloppy, desperate way.’

Harmony ignored the other proceedings and quietly walked over to Xander and hugged him, resting her head on his chest.

‘Are you sure you're okay?’ she asked softly.

‘I'm fine,’ he said reassuringly, ‘You don't have to worry about me.’

‘Yes I do,’ she replied simply, ‘I always worry.’ Wesley ignored the couple and turned to d'Ibelin.

‘What do you mean by sloppy?’ Wesley asked the commander.

‘Robespierre is – _was_ one of my best scouts,’ he explained, ‘He would sneak up on targets and shoot them before they even knew he was there.’

‘That's _exactly_ what he did do,’ stated Wesley, ‘In fact, the only reason I survived was that Xander pushed me out of the way. Now that I think about it, how _did_ you know he was there?’ he asked, turning to Xander.

‘I dunno,’ he replied, ‘I just got lucky. You know, like a gut feeling or something.’

‘Enough of this,’ said d'Ibelin wearily, ‘Xander, you said that you had a plan of attack. I would hear it.’

‘It's very simple,’ said Xander, ‘We know that the carrier is still at Bendal and that it is the only one that has been deployed so, obviously, it needs to be taken out. What I propose is that we launch a stealth attack on it with minimal numbers and detonate the explosives that Willow and Fred created in the bridge – ah basically the quarter deck except that it's a room,’ he hastily explained upon seeing the confused expressions being displayed by d'Ibelin and the other generals. ‘Whilst we do that,’ he continued, ‘We will also cripple the flying machines by destroying their landing gear. Once that is done, a conventional fighting force would attack the camp they have made.’ He turned to d'Ibelin. ‘Do you think your men could take on their forces conventionally if the carrier was neutralised?’

‘My men could fight and win were the Ventzians outnumbering them five to one,’ he stated confidently, ‘And with your new blasting powder I do not see how they could lose.’ Xander grinned in response.

‘Good man,’ he said.

**~o~O~o~**

Acre rushed to the aviary as soon as he left the war room. The Ventzians had to know about the attack before it could be executed. He found the pigeon that he was looking for and attached the message to its leg before releasing it. It would be a near thing, he thought frantically. The real question was whether or not the Ventzians would be able to prepare a counter strategy before the attack. If they failed to stop the attack they would blame him and he would lose everything; his title, his life… his daughter.

If the attack succeeded, they would kill his daughter.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Dear lord,’ breathed d'Ibelin softly, ‘What did they do? How…?’ He and his men stared open mouthed at what had once been the small sea town called Bendal. It was now entirely flattened, replaced with wooden scaffolding and a huge pit that went down for at least one hundred metres.

‘I'm sorry,’ said Xander sincerely, ‘But we can't think of that right now.’

‘You're right,’ said d'Ibelin, returning to his professional tone of voice, ‘How long before we can attack?’

‘When you see explosions on the carrier,’ explained Xander, ‘That'll mean we're ready.’ The carrier in question sat there on the water ominously, silent as a crypt. He frowned at something that tugged at his subconsciousness. ‘I'm missing something,’ he said, ‘Something really big, something right in front of me… Oh.’

‘What's wrong?’ d'Ibelin asked, not liking the tone he was using.

‘I can't see any enemy soldiers,’ Xander stated, ‘I can see scaffolding, the carrier and a big ass hole in the ground but no troops.’ The commander gazed around what used to be the town but, he too, could not see a single solitary person. ‘What do we do?’ asked Xander, ‘This is your army.’

‘We continue as planned,’ said d'Ibelin, ‘The carrier or whatever you call it is still there as are the flying machines. They were the target after all.’ Xander nodded.

‘Okay,’ he said, ‘I'll meet up with the others and let them know the plan is a go. We'll start in half an hour right after the sun is gone.’ He turned to leave but d'Ibelin stopped him.

‘About the ladies,’ he said, ‘Are you sure it's a good idea to let them into a combat zone.’ Xander chuckled in response, grinning at the commander's flabbergasted expression.

‘It's a lot safer for me if they're there,’ he said. Upon seeing d'Ibelin's confused expression, he added, ‘Trust me, they can hold their own.’

‘If you say so,’ responded the lord, giving a rare grin, ‘Thank you for your assistance, it's been… _educational_.’

‘Likewise, sir,’ said Xander, giving him a sloppy salute that would have shamed the greenest of recruits.

**~o~O~o~**

Willow drummed her fingers along her knee nervously as she sat down in the grass watching the sun go down to where the sky met the ocean. Sparks flew from her digits every time they connected with her leg, creating a tiny light show. Apparently in this world the sun went down in the east.

‘Are you okay?’ Fred asked her gently.

‘No I'm not. I am _very_ far from okay,’ she replied, watching the waves go back and forth, ‘Something is very, very wrong. I can feel… I don't know what it is but it is _wrong_ and it's out there.’ Kennedy joined them and waited for the sun to set.

Spike and Angel were standing apart from the others, waiting for Xander to come back from the main force.

‘Why did you turn her down?’ Spike asked suddenly, ‘I thought you still wanted her.’ Angel didn't need to ask who ‘her’ was.

‘I do,’ Angel replied quietly, ‘More than anything. But… I've seen this show, I know how it ends and it doesn't end well for me. Maybe it's selfish but I just want to be able to get out with some dignity intact. I don't know if that makes any sense to you or not but it's how I feel about the whole thing.’

‘Nah I get that,’ agreed Spike as he watched the admittedly spectacular sunset. ‘You gonna miss it?’ he asked, watching the burning sky.

‘Yeah a bit,’ admitted Angel, ‘It's been a crazy adventure but there is no denying that view.’ The two champions spent the rest of the time in silence, watching what would probably be their last sunset one way or another.

‘Um, excuse me?’ Harmony turned from the shore to find herself facing Dawn. ‘Can I join you?’ the younger girl asked. Harmony nodded hesitantly.

‘S-sure,’ she said, still feeling a large cocktail of emotions around the people from Sunnydale; fear, guilt and self-hatred being chief among them. Dawn laughed at her obvious apprehension.

‘Relax,’ she said, ‘I don't bite.’ Harmony looked even more guilty. ‘Oh _sorry_ ,’ said Dawn, regretting her poorly chosen words, ‘I didn't mean… Oh, never mind.’

‘Is there something you need?’ Harmony asked, ‘If you want, I c-can go and –’

‘I just wanted to talk,’ said Dawn easily, ‘Nothing sinister.’

‘What about?’

‘You're seeing Xander, right?’ Dawn enquired bluntly.

‘Yes.’

‘Please don't hurt my friend,’ she asked, ‘I'm not gonna ask you to stay away from him or anything like that because I don't think either of you would listen but please don't hurt him.’

‘That's I want to do,’ Harmony replied quickly, ‘I-I couldn't even if I wanted too.’

‘Good,’ she said seriously, ‘Because, if you do, you'll have me to answer to.’

Wesley watched the carrier, wondering what could be the explanation for the complete lack of movement. _Something is very,_ very _wrong._ Then it hit him. That was not simply an aircraft carrier. That was an aircraft carrier from Earth. Everything about the design screamed the American military, more specifically the 1940s military. Whilst there were similarities between this world and Earth, the dimension did have a certain aesthetic flavour of its own. _Ah-ha!_ There it was. On the side if the hull, clear as day was the name _USS Bismarck Sea._ That carrier had been destroyed by Japanese kamikazes during the battle of Iwo Jima, taking three hundred and eighteen men down to the depths with it. Now what was another dimension doing with what was supposed to be a human made wreck? He motioned over for Gunn and Lorne to come join him.

‘Look at that,’ he said, ‘That's one of yours, it's a carrier from Earth. Look at the side.’ Gunn looked on in shock.

‘That's even more confusing,’ he said, ‘I didn't even notice it before, although to be fair, I was running the other way. I just thought that the other side was more advanced but…’

‘It's like someone just snatched it out of time and dragged it here,’ said Lorne, ‘I want to know how they learned how to use it and the planes seeing as they didn't invent them.’

‘I just want to know where they got it from,’ said Wesley, ‘It should be a rusted wreck somewhere in the Pacific.’

‘The important thing to ask is does it change anything?’ Gunn asked, ‘Yes, it's a complete impossibility, it shouldn't be here but it still a carrier, nothing has really changed except that there is now a mystery that is going to drive me crazy.’

‘Good point,’ said Lorne, nodding, ‘When we get back home we can look up the _Bismarck_ at our leisure, let's just get there first.’

‘What's wrong?’ asked Giles walking over to the trio.

‘Nothing, _Rupert,_ ’ Wesley answered coldly, ‘Just a small chat between friends.’ Wesley may not have been privy to the entirety the Watcher and Xander's complicated relationship he did know that he had hurt his protégé and exacerbated his bullet wound. In short; Rupert Giles was definitely _not_ one of his favourite people in the world. Gunn and Lorne also regarded the former librarian with similar expressions of hostility; they had actually seen the fight between him and Xander. Giles was going to respond when he was interrupted by the arrival of Xander.

‘d'Ibelin said he's ready for the assault as soon as the sun is gone,’ he informed them, making a show of addressing everyone except for Giles. He frowned before continuing, ‘Random question, but have you seen… well, _anyone?_ Over with the main force we can't see a single soldier either on the ground or on the carrier.’ Wesley and Gunn exchanged a look.

‘Now that you mention it,’ said Gunn, ‘I don't we have. How did we not notice that?’

‘It wasn't there to be noticed,’ said Wesley thoughtfully, ‘That's not all, do you recognise the carrier?’ Xander shook his head in confusion.

‘Should I have?’ he asked.

‘Look at the name,’ Wesley instructed. Xander shrugged and looked over at the behemoth in the water. He watched Xander's face as he analysed the carrier; it was confused, then concentrated as he took in the details and then, finally, rather startled. He saw the boy mouth ‘U.S.S.’

‘Doesn't U.S.S. mean American?’ he asked finally. Wesley nodded.

‘Exactly,’ he said, ‘That's not just American that's the _USS Bismarck Sea_. It was destroyed in the Second World War by the Japanese.’

‘And you just knew that off the top of your head?’ Xander asked sardonically.

‘Shut up,’ said Wesley, his grin robbing the words of any heat. ‘Some of us actually paid attention during classes. I just want to know how that found its way across to this dimension without so much as a single scratch.’

‘That's a good question,’ said Xander, ‘One for another day.’ He motioned for Angel, Spike, Willow and Fred to join them. ‘I just got back from the main force. We are to get started in about ten minutes. Once they see the flames, they are to start the attack although I have absolutely no idea what they're going to attack, I can't see anyone out there.’ Wesley turned to Willow and Fred.

‘Are you sure the powder is going to work?’ he asked. The two ladies mock-glared at him.

‘We know what we're doing,’ said Willow, wrapping a sisterly arm around Fred's shoulder, ‘My girl knows her stuff.’

‘Okay,’ continued Wesley, ‘Just to go over the plan one more time; Xander, Gunn and myself will attack the control room and destroy everything that we can. Angel, Giles and Fred will sabotage the planes in the hangar in the lower levels whilst Spike, Buffy and Willow will work on the planes on the top level. Kennedy will stay on as back-up and will go to wherever has the heavier fighting whilst the others will stay here. She will travel with Spike's team.’

‘Oh is it _my_ team?’ Spike asked brightly.

‘Shut up Spike.’

Neither Harmony nor Dawn were happy to be kept out of the fighting but Lorne was philosophic about it and pointed out that they had little to contribute in a fight, him least of all. They weren't happy but they agreed in the end.

After everyone nodded to confirm their understanding, Wesley said, ‘Okay, good, we'll start in ten minutes.’

‘Go team,’ said Xander dryly. As they started to peel off into their separate groups, Giles hung back for a moment.

‘Xander,’ he began, ‘Do you have a moment–’

‘No,’ said Xander bluntly, not even turning to face him, ‘Good talk.’ Giles was prevented from pressing the issue by the re-appearance of Anya, standing right next to Xander. She didn't say anything; she just smirked viciously at him.

‘Say something or go away,’ he snarled, stepping through the spectre.

‘Well that's not very nice,’ she said sarcastically.

‘Anya,’ he said, ‘I am sorry for so many things but you're dead, Xander is not. I figure I'll have better luck with him.’ Anya laughed hysterically.

‘I'm sorry,’ she said, ‘Have you _met_ him? He's more stubborn than a… very… stubborn thing. Oh blimey, that sentence got away from me didn't it?’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Hey.’ Xander turned to see Harmony sit down next to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leant into him, resting her head on his chest.

‘Hey yourself,’ he said in response, ‘What's up?’

‘Nothing,’ she said, ‘I just wanted a hug.’

‘Fair enough.’

‘Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?’ she asked.

‘Harmony,’ he said, ‘It's not that I don't want you to come it's just that you don't have any experience in this sort of thing.’

‘It was never a problem back home,’ she pointed out.

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘Because you were all super strong and tough.’ She frowned at his words. ‘What?’ he asked.

‘For a second I almost forgot,’ she said, ‘When I get back I'll…’ Her voice trailed off as he realised what she was talking about.

_Oh God._

‘It's gonna be okay,’ he said gently, kissing her on the top of her head, ‘No matter what happens, I'm not going anywhere.’

‘Promise?’ she asked weakly.

‘I promise,’ he said instantly.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ said Wesley, ‘But it's time.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Okay, I know you're supposed to treat the absence of the enemy as a good thing but this is getting ridiculous,’ said Xander. He along with Wesley and Gunn had rowed to the carrier and grappled their way on board. That was the weakest aspect of the plan, if they were seen or detected by radar they would be blown out of the water but there was no other way of getting there. They were lucky to have evaded notice. They were also lucky not to be detected when boarding the vessel. However, when they were lucky enough to encounter zero opposition on the way to the bridge, they realised that something was wrong.

‘I'm with Xander,’ said Gunn, who was travelling slower than the others as he was carrying the majority of the explosives. ‘We should have seen a guard, or a pilot or _someone._ ’

‘Where is everybody?’ asked Wesley of no-one in particular, ‘They have to be here because no-one could simply forget about an aircraft carrier and leave it behind by mistake. This is absurd.’ He shook his head. ‘Let's just plant the bombs and get out of here.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘Are you okay, Red?’ Spike asked with concern. She nodded in response but was clearly being dishonest. She was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Kennedy firmly grabbed her shoulder to halt her progress.

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘You're definitely _not_ okay. What's wrong?’ The red haired witch shook her head wearily.

‘It's this place,’ she said tiredly, ‘I don't know, I…’ She then simply collapsed unconscious into Kennedy's arms mid-sentence.

‘She's been like this all afternoon,’ said Kennedy, ‘She shouldn't even be here in her condition.’ Buffy, ever in Slayer mode, quickly made a decision.

‘Kennedy,’ she said in her commanding voice, ‘Stay here with her. Spike and I will do it ourselves.’ She nodded and handed Spike the explosives that she had been carrying. He accepted the extra load without complaint and quickly set off for the planes.

‘Am I the only one who's confused about the lack of guards?’ he asked as the continued on in the direction of the planes.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Come on,’ said Angel, striding purposefully down the cramped corridor, ‘We haven't got long.’

‘Keep it down, man,’ Giles hissed, ‘Do you want to let the entire ship know that we're here?’

‘It's not like that there is anyone here anyway, _Rupert_ ,’ Fred replied in a frosty tone of voice.

‘I'm sorry,’ he said, clearly lying, ‘Did I step on your dog or something?’

‘Oh there it is,’ she said dramatically, ‘I just knew that you would be a total stuck up.’ He scoffed in response.

‘Who spat in your coffee this morning?’ he asked snidely.

‘Do you have to work at being an arrogant bastard?’ she asked, ‘I mean, do you have to practice every day in the mirror when you get dressed?’

‘Children,’ said Angel placatingly, ‘Could you please keep it down while we're working?’

‘Whatever,’ said Fred. She threw a final dark look towards the Watcher before continuing onwards.

‘What's her problem?’ Giles asked Angel.

‘We are not having a moment,’ Angel answered dismissively. Xander was not his friend but he was his employee and so, naturally, he felt honour bound to take his side. Suddenly he stopped in mid-stride. ‘Fred's right,’ he said, ‘This place is way too deserted. We should have heard someone even if we haven't seen them.’

‘I'd say that this vessel had been abandoned if not for the fact that it was an aircraft carrier,’ said Giles thoughtfully, ‘They wouldn't simply forget about it and leave it lying around.’

‘I don't like this,’ said Fred, ‘Before we started, Willow was extremely agitated, she said she could feel something wrong and Wesley said that he couldn't see anyone in what was left of the town.’ Angel was silent for a while before coming to a decision.

‘Until we have more information,’ he said finally, ‘We act as if nothing has changed. Carry on.’ He increased his pace, leaving the other two behind him.

‘So what is your problem with me?’ asked Giles more quietly than before. She turned to face him and glared at him with all the warmth of an iceberg.

‘Harmony, Wesley and I had to spend almost _four months_ fixing your mess,’ she hissed, ‘Xander was a wreck when we found him and from I see, you played a big part in that.’

‘I didn't do anything,’ he said quickly.

‘Exactly,’ she replied, ‘You didn't do anything when his father beat him, you didn't do anything when his lover died and you certainly didn't do anything when he couldn't cope and tried to drink himself to death.’

‘I'm not his father,’ Giles pointed out.

‘No but you were the closest thing he had,’ she said furiously, ‘And don't give me some crap about it not being your problem. You were the Watcher and he was only in the fight because of your Slayer. All I want to know is _why?_ Why couldn't you show him a fraction of the concern you showed the others?’

‘Okay,’ said Giles harshly, ‘Listen very carefully. I tried. I've tried very hard to get him to open up over the years but Xander Harris does not open up about his feelings. I'm not going to act like I'm blameless because I'm not, _God_ knows I'm not but I was not some sadistic teacher that enjoyed watching him suffer.’

‘You hit him the second you saw him,’ she said scathingly.

‘He _died_ ,’ Giles replied angrily, ‘We mourned for him, _I_ mourned for him and it turned out that he was gallivanting across the globe without a care in the world.’

‘He was not gallivanting,’ she retorted, ‘I actually think he was trying to die. Everywhere that he went ended with him being arrested or homeless or on the run.’ Giles stopped in his tracks.

‘How did you do it?’ he asked wearily, ‘How did you get him to talk to you about this stuff?’

‘To be perfectly honest,’ she said, ‘I kind of cheated. I asked him when he was off his guard, about the time he started working for us.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I'm sorry for snapping at you,’ she said, ‘I still think that you could have done a better job but I should have considered what it had been like for you too.’

‘Thank you,’ he said stiffly, ‘I just –’ The hallway lights all turned themselves on despite no-one flicking a switch.

_CLANG!_

The entire ship rocked violently, throwing them from their feet.

‘What the hell was that?’ Angel demanded rhetorically.

**~o~O~o~**

_CLANG!_

‘Are you okay?’ Spike asked, helping Buffy to her feet.

‘I think so,’ she said, rubbing her shoulders, ‘What happened? And where are the explosives? I think I dropped them.’

‘Hell if I know,’ he replied before freezing, staring over at something behind her.

‘What's wrong?’ she asked before turning. ‘Oh crap. This is gonna suck.’ Somehow the pack she had been carrying had been thrown loose in the commotion and there it lay, ten feet in front of her. Her unenthusiastic reaction, however, was due to the fact that it was now somehow smoking.

‘Oh _come on!_ ’ Spike groaned before suddenly laughing.

‘What?’ she demanded.

‘Oh nothing,’ he said grinning, ‘It's just I'm human, I have the Slayer at my side and I'm about to be blown up. I don't think I've ever been happier.’

‘Shut up,’ she said smiling in response before looking over the side. Jumping was probably the only way out, the shore was only a few hundred metres in front of them. They could swim that far. ‘What do you think?’ she asked, ‘Are we brave enough?’

‘Oh yeah,’ he said certainly before kissing her. ‘What?’ he said to her dumfounded expression, ‘I'm probably dead anyway. Last kiss for the condemned man.’ He then took her hand and together they jumped for the water. However, the second after they jumped, the carrier moved again towards the shore and they landed uselessly on the metal floor.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Okay,’ said Gunn, ‘Let's just drop this stuff and get out of here as soon as we can. This place is really starting to give me the creeps.’

‘Agreed,’ said Wesley, assisting Gunn with unpacking the explosives. ‘Xander,’ he said, ‘Put all of yours around that control panel over there.’ Xander nodded and piled them underneath and around the bench. ‘Alright,’ he said, satisfied that everything was as ready as it was going to be, ‘I'll set the fuse, you two should probably get ready to run. This stuff isn't exactly stable.’

‘Wait, _what?_ ’ demanded Gunn, ‘I was carrying that around for like half an hour! Not exactly stable!’

‘Relax,’ said Xander, ‘You're still in one piece.’ Once the fuse was set, Wesley trailed it the door way and knelt down to light it. Just as he was about to strike a match Xander yanked him back roughly by the collar, almost cutting off his air flow. He was about to demand an explanation when he saw a pipe rip itself from the ceiling and stab down right where he had just been squatting. He looked at his protégé in shock.

‘How did you know?’ he breathed. Xander was prevented from answering by the lights suddenly turning on. Before anyone could comment on the strange turn of events, carrier shaking violently. Wesley retained his footing by grasping the open door. Xander and Gunn were not so fortunate and were hurled onto their backs. Gunn broke his fall by absorbing the impact in his arms. Only winded, he quickly climbed to his feet but Xander had landed far worse and was having trouble moving. He groaned in pain and Wesley helped him up and supported him on his shoulder. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked quickly. Xander shook his head.

‘I'm having trouble moving my legs,’ he said, his face extremely pale.

‘Can you feel them?’ he asked urgently. Had the boy been paralysed?

‘Oh _yes_ ,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘I can definitely feel them, they just hurt like a mother- _AHH!_ ’ If he moved, it sent pain racing up and down through all of his nerve endings.

‘What happened?’ Gunn asked, ‘The whole thing just shifted.’ Suddenly, everything started to vibrate. At first Wesley thought that there was going to be a repeat of the sudden shaking but then he realised that it was actually laughter reverberating around the metal room. It was subtle at first but then it gradually became more and more noticeable until it was positively thunderous.

~ _I am sorry, I know it was mean to let you get this far despite the fact that I was going to stop you anyway, but I simply could not resist. It is a personal failing of mine. Acre sent word hours ago. The poor man seems to be under delusion that his daughter is still alive._ ~

The voice was like nails running across the surface of their brains. It was sexless, ageless, so completely inhuman. Gunn pressed his palms firmly against his ears in the hope of stifling that unholy sound but to no avail. The very words simply forced the three to their knees.

~ _Much better. I do so love the sight of humans on their knees_ ~

The carrier shook again but, this time, it didn't stop. Wesley experienced a brief sensation of weightlessness before once again slamming into the hard floor.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Dear God,’ breathed Lorne as he, Dawn and Harmony watched the scene unfold before their extremely freaked out eyes from their vantage point on the cliffs above the water. Every single light on the previously dead carrier came to life and the sound of whirring machinery could be heard, even at their distance. Then the carrier shook violently before returning to its previous stillness. However, that was not the end. Almost a minute passed before the carrier did something that its creators had never even dreamed possible. Somehow, despite its 10'400 tonnage, the _USS Bismarck Sea_ proudly rose from the water and floated down to what had once been a small town called Bendal.

‘We have to do something,’ said Dawn frantically, not taking her eyes off the spectacle before them. Lorne nodded.

‘You're right,’ he said, ‘Let's head on down to main force. They'll be able to help.’ Harmony had already started running down the hill before he even finished talking.

**~o~O~o~**

‘Is everyone okay?’ Wesley asked, having not yet risen to his feet.

‘I wouldn't go so far as to say okay but I am alive,’ said Xander.

‘I'm alive,’ grunted Gunn, nursing at least a few broken ribs. Wesley motioned for him to come over next to Xander.

‘Come on,’ he said, ‘Gimmie a hand with him.’ When they started to shift him Xander choked back a scream.

‘This doesn't look good,’ said Wesley gravely.

‘Your bedside manner could use some work, Wes,’ Xander managed to snark before clenching his teeth together to stop him from biting his own tongue.

‘I think the whole carrier just moved,’ said Gunn, ‘I don't just mean the shaking, I think it has moved somewhere solid.’ He looked up through the now shattered window. ‘Yep, we're definitely on dry land.’

‘Come on,’ said Wesley, ‘Let's get out of this death trap.’ The two older men held Xander up and carried him out of the control room. As soon as they climbed off the carrier, the laughter started again.

~ _I could not just let you destroy the carrier. I do not need it anymore but I still do not like sharing my toys with others_ ~

**~o~O~o~**

‘What should we do?’ one of the soldiers asked d'Ibelin. The commander was silent, watching the spectacle with unblinking eyes. He shook himself out of his reverie. His desire to help his new allies was fiercely contrasted with the need to protect his men. He wanted to help Wesley and the others, he really did but he could not simply send his men into battle against whatever it was that had entered the playing field.

‘Sound the retreat,’ he said finally, ‘We march for Galderan.’

**~o~O~o~**

‘What are you?’ Wesley demanded, ‘What do you want with us?’

~ _You dare to question_ ME _little man?_ ~

‘Yeah,’ he replied fiercely, ‘I do. Rahg-Na-Ra, I presume?’

~ _So you know my name. It is so nice to have my reputation proceed me._ ~

‘We are going to stop you,’ Wesley snarled, climbing to his feet despite the force of that mighty voice.

~ _Stop me? How can you stop me when you cannot even save your little friend?_ ~

Xander was levitated above their heads and dragged by unseen hands several metres in front of them. Both Wesley and Gunn moved to help save their friend but they were pushed to the ground by the same unseen force.

~ _Do you still believe that you can stop me? Can you see your boy? Can you hear his cries? I will break him._ ~

_POP!_

Xander's left arm was wrenched out of its socket, dislocated. He grunted in pain, reaching for the break with his undamaged arm.

~ _Does it hurt? Is it painful? Painful; you do not know the meaning of the word._ ~

Xander continued to flail about helplessly.

~ _You were missing an eye before you came into my world. I liked it better that way._ ~

Xander's left eye was wrenched from its socket and dissolved before him, leaving a red socket in its place.

‘Let him go!’ demanded a voice from behind them. Harmony was standing there with a look of absolute horror on her face. Lorne and Dawn were not too far behind her.

~ _Oh how adorable. The little girl wants to play too. Very well._ ~

Xander was released and fell to the ground. Harmony was then lifted in his place.

~ _I am curious. What exactly was your plan aside from asking nicely?_ ~

A ball of purple energy surrounded Harmony and she slowly started to lower towards the ground. The source of the energy was Willow, her arms outstretched and her hair flowing like red smoke around her head.

‘You will _not_ touch them,’ she said.

~ _Sorry Junior, I do not need you anymore. I found what I was looking for._ ~

Harmony was roughly slammed into the ground and was knocked unconscious. A small sphere of light began to shine where she had been held and it continued to grow both in size and brilliance.

‘I hate to break it to you,’ said Willow, her fingers resembling claws, ‘But you're not my first. I've seen so many would be Big Bads that I think I've become inured to them.’

‘Yeah,’ said Buffy, jumping off the carrier with Spike at her side. ‘Taking down monsters like you is what we do.’ Angel, Fred and Giles also emerged from the landlocked vessel.

~ _Oh you people are just_ loving _this. You are afraid but, at the same time, excited. You live for this._ ~

‘What of it?’ said Spike, ‘Everyone needs a hobby.’

~ _Explain to them, Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan. You read about me, did you not?_ ~

They all turned to the green hided demon.

‘It's an Empath,’ he said nervously, ‘It lived of the fear of its worshipers.’

~ _There is more!_ ~

‘It wasn't just the fear,’ explained Lorne, ‘The worshipers feared it but they liked the fear. They were in awe of it.’

‘I don't understand,’ said Wesley, ‘What does that have to do with us?’

~ _You enjoy the adrenaline, the thrill, being on the brink of death but fighting back. You cannot stop me, you can only make me stronger!_ ~

‘What do you want with us?’ asked Buffy, raising her voice to be heard over the gale that was beginning to form.

~ _Oh what an ego. It is not always about you, Slayer. I just want her._ ~

Willow's hands were forced into fists and her body was wreathed in energy coming from the shining orb, her eyes clenched shut. Kennedy rushed forwards but, like Wesley and Gunn, was flung back in the sand.

Then it all stopped. The shining orb dissipated, the only illumination came from the carrier's lights that were still miraculously working. The gale had stopped and the only sound to be heard were Xander's pitiable cries of pain. He was trying to crawl over to Harmony's still form, dragging himself across the sand with his one good arm.

Willow's eyelids flittered open, her normally green eyes now replaced with purple orbs. She looked down at her hands.

‘ _Fingers,_ ’ she said, ‘ _I. Have. Fingers._ ’ It was muted and more physical but there was no mistaking that horrible, hellish voice. Buffy furiously stalked towards her.

‘You get out of her you f–’ But her voice was cut off, reduced to a choked squeak. She frantically reached for her throat.

‘ _Tsk, tsk,_ ’ said the not-Willow, ‘ _Mind your language._ ’ Finally, Buffy was released and collapsed to the ground. ‘ _This was all for her_ ,’ she continued, looking at Angel, ‘ _Your man Ioan was really my man, although the poor fool does not know it. I have agents spread across the multiverse searching for the perfect vessel._ My _perfect vessel._ _The only form that could contain me and survive. Oh the sensations of the physical form. I can see you lower beings cherish them so much._ ’

Xander finally reached Harmony. He put his trembling hand over her neck and felt for a pulse. There it was; a weak, fluttering thing but she was still alive.

‘You were stopped before,’ said Lorne, sounding much braver then he actually felt, ‘That's why you had the Ventzians invade. You needed them to free you. This means that you can be stopped.’ Rahg-Na-Ra laughed, Willow's innocent, childlike giggle mutilated by its unholy malice.

‘ _Do you really think that you can stop me?_ ’ she asked, an eyebrow raised.

‘I could,’ said a pained voice. Everyone turned to the source of the voice. Hunched over, trembling and hurt stood Xander, somehow holding himself up. Wesley was going to move to stop him but his arms and legs were locked in place.

‘Xander, just stop!’ he shouted frantically.

‘I have to do this,’ Xander said, without looking at Wesley. ‘I don't have a choice.’ Buffy couldn't see anyone, was he hallucinating due to the pain? He paused as though he was hearing some silent response. ‘I have to try.’ Somehow, despite the pain and the damage done to his body, he spun around as quick as a snake as though responding to some unseen blow. And then, to the shock of everyone; human, demon or god, he pulled Anyanka Jenkins out of thin air. She looked down at the wrist that he was still grasping with his one good arm, clearly just as shocked as everyone else present.

‘What?’ she said, ‘I don't understand. H-how? You couldn't see me.’ He smiled and shook his head.

‘I could always see you,’ he replied gently.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Earlier that day_ **

**_Location: Galderan_ **

‘Has Willow made any progress on finding a way for us to get home?’ asked Wesley as they walked.

‘Nothing as of yet,’ said Xander, ‘But to be fair to her, it's not like she has had much opportunity.’ Anya walked next to the pair, wondering why she was even bothering at this stage.

‘Fair enough,’ said Wesley, ‘I just want to get back before Ioan does any more damage. I mean, it's been three days, who knows what's happened to the company in that time?’ What was that man at the end of the hall doing. He pulled out a pistol from its holster and aimed it at Xander's head.

‘Well it's not like this hasn't been a fun little vacation though,’ snarked Xander, ‘Maybe we should just see it as –’

‘ _LOOK OUT!_ ’ Anya screamed, not knowing what else to do.

He too must have noticed as he immediately stopped talking in mid-sentence and tackled Wesley to the ground just as a bullet slammed into the wall right next to where his head had been. Wesley quickly reached for his pistol and fired in the direction of the shot, hitting stone.

She breathed a sigh of relief; he was safe.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Later that day_ **

**_Location: USS Bismarck Sea_ **

‘Relax,’ said Xander, ‘You're still in one piece.’ Once the fuse was set, Wesley trailed it the door way and knelt down to light it.

Anya could feel something wrong in the air. Being dead, she was now more attuned to the various energies that floated around the various dimensions. If she was she visible, Xander would have been looking straight at her. _See me,_ she silently begged. She looked up at the ceiling, frowning. Somehow she just knew that piping was going to rip itself from the roof.

Just as Wesley was about to strike a match Xander yanked him back roughly by the collar, almost cutting off his air flow. He was about to demand an explanation when he saw a pipe rip itself from the ceiling and stab down right where he had just been squatting.

**~o~O~o~**

**The present**

‘Do you really think that you can stop me?’ Rahg-Na-Ra asked, an eyebrow raised.

‘I could,’ said Xander, hobbling towards the God that was inside Willow.

‘Xander, just stop!’ Wesley shouted.

‘Yes stop,’ Anya agreed, desperate to be heard.

‘I have to do this,’ said Xander, ‘I don't have a choice.’

‘Yes you do,’ she pressed, ‘You always have a choice.’ The fool refused to stop his pace.

‘I have to try.’

‘You stupid idiot!’ she screamed, reaching for his shoulder. He spun and caught her wrist in his palm.

‘What?’ she said, ‘I don't understand. H-how? You couldn't see me.’ He smiled and shook his head.

‘I could always see you,’ he replied gently. Anya looked up at Xander as he continued to talk. ‘I could see you, I could hear you and I listened.’ Tears began to trickle down her face.

‘Then why didn't you say anything to me?’ she asked, ‘We could have talked.’

‘I couldn't,’ he said, as though the matter was obvious.

‘Why?’

‘Because I am weak,’ he said, ‘Knowing that you died thinking I didn't love you hurt me more than my Dad, more than my eye… Quite frankly it hurt more than anything I've ever felt.’ He swallowed. ‘And it still hurts.’ He then gently brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and kissed her chastely on the mouth.

‘I think that's what I needed,’ she said, looking up at him adoringly, ‘Closure.’'

‘I'd love to stay and chat,’ he said, ‘But I have a god to kill.’ She rolled her eyes.

‘Oh, one more thing,’ she said. He waited expectantly. ‘About Harmony.’

‘What about her?’ he asked.

‘I don't like her.’ He chuckled.

‘Of course you don't,’ he said, grinning. She laughed along with him.

‘See you round,’ she said before fading away, this time for good.

‘Goodbye,’ he whispered before turning around to face the god.

‘ _Well that was sentimental,_ ’ she said, ‘ _But I'm bored now. Do you really think you can stop me all on your lonesome?_ ’

‘No,’ he said calmly, ‘Not alone.’ He looked past her. ‘Dawnie? Lorne? I need your help.’ The demon from Pylea and the Slayer's little sister stepped forward and they, along with Xander, formed a triangle around Rahg-Na-Ra. ‘What was that you said?’ Xander asked, ‘About living off an adrenaline rush, that lust for danger? What happens if the fear is real?’ For a single instant, there may have been a spasm of fear across Willow's face. Lorne stepped forward.

‘I am Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan,’ he said proudly, ‘And I am scared that I might one day have to take a life.’ Dawn stepped forward.

‘I am Dawn Summers, the sister of the Slayer,’ she said, ‘And every day I am scared that my sister might not come home and I won't be able to do anything.’

‘ _Stop this_ ,’ commanded the god, impotently raising her hands but failing to conjure the powers that she had previously displayed. Wesley could feel the constraints about him loosening. Harmony started to stir.

‘Why?’ asked Xander, ‘I thought you liked fear. I thought you liked the taste. Well if those fears aren't up to your standards; _how about this one?!_ ’ He concentrated on the night Faith tried to kill him. He could feel her fingers crushing his windpipe, her knees digging into his gut.

The god started to scream. Dawn thought back on the day Glory tried to kill her. She could remember the feel of the chains that bound her, the way the blood dripped from her, the knowledge that she was going to die in pain, afraid and alone.

Lorne remembered the night he came back to Pylea. He was terrified that he was going to die there or worse, be trapped there and never see his beloved Los Angeles again.

‘You're pathetic,’ said Dawn, taking another step towards the god, ‘You can't take the fear, not when it's real.’

‘That's the thing about fear,’ said Lorne, taking a long stride forward, ‘You can't run from it, you can't bargain with it.’

‘You have to face it,’ finished Xander, ‘You have to fight it because that's what makes you stronger.’ The god collapsed to her knees.

‘ _Please stop!_ ’ she begged. Xander knelt down next to her and lightly grabbed her shoulders. Harmony's eyes opened.

‘Xander?’ she said deliriously.

‘Wait, wait, wait,’ Xander said, smiling kindly at the now pathetic god, ‘I've got one more.’

_His father was yelling brandishing a broken beer bottle, flailing around madly. Xander hid behind the couch, his six year old form perfect for concealment. His dad moved around the furniture and advanced upon him, the glass' sharp edges moving closer and closer…_

‘ _AAAAAAAGGGGGG-_ GGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!’ The scream changed from the piercing cry of the god to the painful cry of Willow. She and Xander were enveloped in a bright, shining light that reached the clouds like a massive, glowing pillar. Everyone covered their eyes, it was too bright to look without pain. Harmony managed to get to her feet and the others were once again able to move. Slowly but gradually, the light began to die and two silhouettes could be seen. And then, finally, Willow and Xander emerged, alive.

‘Xander!’ cried Harmony rushing towards him and practically tackling him. He wrapped his one useful arm around her

‘Harmony,’ he said, just as emotional, ‘My Harmony.’ The others (save one person) were not too far behind; Kennedy picking up Willow and spinning her around gleefully, Dawn and Lorne hugged Xander, Spike high fived Willow, Wesley hugged Fred from behind her, nodding at Xander who returned the nod while fist-bumping Gunn. Basically every possible combination of hug, high five or other form of affection was displayed by the two teams, Spike and Xander even shared a bro-hug although they both vigorously denied it, calling it a trick of the light. Everyone was just happy to be alive and to be together.

Giles stood back, watching the proceedings unfold. He honestly had no idea what to do.

‘I still don't understand,’ said Dawn afterward, ‘What exactly happened?’

‘I can explain that,’ said Willow who was practically shining with vitality, ‘I was inside her head and got the cliff notes. Rahg-Na-Ra had been trapped here in this exact spot ages ago and tried to get free. She could only indirectly influence things at first but once people in Ventzia started worshiping her, she got stronger. She influenced them to go to war for the sole purpose of eventually destroying this town and digging down to where her consciousness was buried. Once the war really got going, solders were experiencing thrill and adrenaline rushes non-stop which added to her power which was how she could drag that carrier from our world. She also needed a vessel, me, to be fully free which is why she influenced people in many worlds to look for a body that could absorb her and remain undamaged. Ioan wasn't targeting Buffy after all; he was targeting me, you guys just came along for the ride.’

‘You mean to say that she could make a carrier dimension hop but she couldn't free herself?’ said Gunn skeptically.

‘The binding was very specific,’ said Willow, ‘By the end she was so powerful that she could do practically anything except physically leave this place. Those three,’ she nodded at Dawn, Xander and Lorne, ‘Made sure that didn't happen. An adrenaline rush was one thing, the real McCoy on the other hand in such a concentrated dose was too much even for her appetite.’

‘So can you get us home?’ Spike asked. She scoffed at him.

‘I just absorbed the entire might of a god,’ she said, ‘Getting us home? That's easy. Why don't I make the sun green, or write my name in the stars or something cool?’

‘I think we could settle for home,’ said Buffy, ‘You could just use the power to augment you gifts, it could make you stronger for the rest of your life.’

‘Or it could do something really spectacular for half an hour,’ speculated Wesley.

‘So home?’ asked Willow.

‘Home,’ said Fred.

‘Home,’ said Lorne, ‘I've had enough of this place for a lifetime.’

‘Home it is then,’ said Willow conjuring a portal. Most of them walked through without hesitation, Harmony however, stood back apprehensively.

‘What's wrong?’ Xander asked her.

‘I can't,’ she said, ‘If I go back… If I go back I won't have a soul. What I feel for you, what I'm feeling now will disappear and I won't be enough for you.’ Wesley stood at the edge of the portal, waiting to see if he was needed but staying silent in the meantime. Xander cradled her face in his hands.

‘Harmony Kendall,’ he said resolutely, ‘No matter what world we're in and no matter what forms we have I know that one thing is certain; You. Are. Enough. Always will be.’ She nodded.

‘Okay,’ she said, more to herself, ‘I can do this.’ She took one final gulp of air and took a step forward and entered the swirling nexus.

**~o~O~o~**

**_Location: Arms and Munitions_ **

They were all thrown to the ground in a heap.

‘What?’ demanded a Welsh accented voice, ‘How did you…?’

‘Sorry Ioan,’ said Angel, walking forward with a drawn sword, ‘I think we're to stay.’ He swung the sword in a deadly arc and half a second later, Ioan's headless body collapsed to the ground.

‘I guess time moves faster in that other place,’ said Fred, once again covered in blue. ‘It doesn't look like we've been gone for more than a minute.’ Xander turned to Harmony.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked gently, waiting for some kind of reaction. She just looked at him with this unreadable expression on her face.

‘I have to go,’ she said finally, turning and leaving through the door. Xander moved to follow her but Spike put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

‘Leaver her, mate,’ he said, not unkindly, ‘She needs her space. I'm sure she has a lot to think about.’

**Author's Note:**

> Please review and I'll see you next time.


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